Proposed Boise laws would crack down more on animal cruelty, leaving pets in hot cars
Boise City Council Member TJ Thomson will once again try to bring forward amendments to city code on animal welfare.
If put into city code, the changes would expand the city’s definition of animal cruelty and create new laws to protect animals within city limits.
One notable change is that the proposed code would create a “good Samaritan” immunity for those who rescue dogs from hot cars and other situations that could be dangerous to the pet. Under the proposal, people who reasonably believe that breaking into a motor vehicle or trailer is necessary to rescue an animal are immune from both criminal and civil liability.
The person must go through several steps first, including confirming that the vehicle is locked and contacting law enforcement before entering. Idaho does not have a statewide law that offers immunity to people who forcibly enter cars to save animals, but the proposed city measure would follow the same model that more than 30 other states have.
Leaving an animal in a hot car would be a civil infraction under Thomson’s new proposals. If the animal “suffers great bodily harm or death,” then it is a misdemeanor.
The new proposed code also would ban stores from selling “commercially bred dogs and cats.” Pet stores must instead get the dogs and cats in their care from shelters or other nonprofit rescues. The law does not prohibit the private breeding of pets, but it does mean that those privately bred dogs and cats cannot be sold in retail stores.
Other changes to city code in the proposal:
- Leashes that are “appropriately substantial for the size and strength of the dog” would be required, except in areas specifically designated as off-leash.
- Shelters would be permitted to spay or neuter feral cats and then release those cats again.
- Animal cruelty would have an expanded definition, and the new code would specifically ban hoarding (which would be defined as keeping a large number of animals but being unable to meet the necessary care standards), keeping pets out in extreme hot or cold weather, and willfully poisoning animals.
- It would be illegal to sell dogs on public property, including parks, street and sidewalks.
Thomson brought forward similar proposals in 2019, but they did not get past the work session phase. He has been working on changes since then with help from the Idaho Humane Society. The animal welfare law is one of the last remaining ordinances Thomson promised when he announced last year that he would not run for a fourth term this fall.
Thomson will present the new code to the City Council at a 10:30 a.m. strategic planning meeting on Tuesday. The meeting may be watched remotely at cityofboise.org/virtual-meetings.
A public hearing on the proposed code is scheduled for April 6.
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