UPDATE: Public Safety Committee Tables Mandatory Spay/Neuter Ordinance

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A controversial ordinance that would require Macon residents to get their pets spayed or neutered has been tabled.

Monday night, Macon’s Public Safety Committee voted 3-2 to postpone a vote on the ordinance proposed by Councilwoman Nancy White.

It’s a way to cut down on the large number of stray animals in the city, but some council members say this particular ordinance isn’t the best solution.

Councilman Henry Gibson and President James Timley both said the ordinance would be unfair to low-income families who couldn’t afford to get their pets fixed.

Gibson also raised concerns over how the ordinance would be enforced.

“If you put the law on the books, then the police will have to enforce the law,” says Gibson.  “What are the police going to do? Go and they see a dog (and) pick the dog up to check if the dog is neutered? I mean, please.”

Bibb County Animal Welfare Director Sarah Tenon, who said during the meeting that over 2,300 healthy animals were put down last year at the shelter due to overcrowding, says the proposed ordinance wasn’t designed to penalize anyone, but rather to educate them on the importance of getting their pets fixed.

“With everything that has come forth, it has heightened the awareness to the council, to the community, that we really have a problem with the over pet population in our area,” says Tenon.

Even though this particular ordinance was tabled, committee members all seemed to acknowledge something does need to be done about the pet overpopulation.

The Bibb County Commission is currently considering a similar ordinance.