A new piece of legislation from the Palmerton Borough Council consolidates and fleshes out a number of previous laws for the care and oversight of cats, dogs and other animals.

"The first one was very short and general. This actually gets more in depth for the maintaining of feeding stations and so on," borough manager Rodger Danielson said.The combined law makes an easy reference material for pet owners in Palmerton, and Carbon County Friends of Animals President Susie Yaich said that other communities should consider similar efforts."I would like to see some of the other boroughs come up with ordinances pertaining to animals in their boroughs," Yaich said. "It eliminates a lot of confusion on the pet owners' part. It would make sense to have one combined ordinance rather than several that people may not be aware of."Some elements of the law include tagging for dogs and cats, rules regarding the disposal of waste, vaccination requirements, guidelines for what constitutes a nuisance related to a "barking, howling, screeching, yelping or baying" animal, and restrictions on animals "running at large."The "maintaining of feeding stations" that Danielson referenced refers to a rule against creating conditions attractive to wild animals and stray or feral pets.One of the most novel elements of the Palmerton law is the registration of cats in the borough, though surprisingly, this has been in effect since 1986."There were concerns about cats in the area," Danielson said. "At one point, they were concerned about free-roaming animals."Cat registration takes place at the borough office during March, when each owner must provide the name and description of each feline that they own. A $1 license fee is charged for each cat, and the owner receives a certificate to verify that the animal is registered until the first day of January.Yaich said that while Palmerton's efforts are a good start, she would like to see the law expanded to cover more issues."I would really like to see them go even further and have something pertaining to mandatory spay/neuter programs," Yaich said. "Palmerton and many other communities have problems with feral and stray cats."Danielson said that the comprehensive code should be available on the borough website soon.