A measure that will ask Lemon Grove residents if the sale of commercially bred birds should be banned is headed to the November ballot.
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The proposal would extend the city’s restriction on rescue-only pet sales to include birds. Organizers submitted 2,135 verified signatures in support of the initiative to the city, and council members voted 3-2 last week to put it on the ballot.
Supporters say it would be a common sense extension of existing restrictions, which forbid the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits unless they were obtained from an animal shelter or rescue.
“Commercially bred birds often endure horrible conditions similar to puppy mills, living in stacked wire cages,” Lynne Ciani said, while speaking in support of the initiative. “Because birds have complex needs, owners often surrender them. As a result, shelters often face immense capacity issues.”
Notably, the proposal would specifically limit the sale of “companion” birds, such as parrots, parakeets, cockatiels and doves. It would not include poultry or birds kept for backyard flock purposes, such as chickens, ducks, geese or turkeys.
Pet store sales would be targeted by the restriction; private breeding would still be allowed in Lemon Grove.
There were no speakers in opposition to the initiative, which supporters said they wanted officials to adopt as an ordinance instead of sending it to the ballot.
Placing the measure on the ballot is estimated to cost the city from $25,000 to $50,000, an amount they said was unnecessary given public support for the issue.
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“I personally would like to see us save $50,000… I want (that) to help support opening the recreation center,” Mayor Alysson Snow said. “You have already brought us a significant number of signatures, not that many people show up to vote during the off-presidential elections.”
Snow and Councilmember Jennifer Mendoza wanted to adopt the initiative directly as an ordinance, citing financial strains and other potential uses for the funding it would cost to refer it to voters.
Mayor Pro Tem Jessyka Heredia and Councilmembers Seth Smith and Yadira Altamirano voted to submit the initiative to the ballot.
“I’m a firm believer that I would like the voters to have a say in this,” Heredia said. “I don’t think the signatures alone are necessarily enough to say that this is what the city of Lemon Grove wants to do. I would do this with any initiative just because I believe in the democratic process.”
Adopting the proposal directly as an ordinance could allow for legal challenges from local pet stores, the city attorney said, noting it is “a little more difficult to challenge a citizen initiative.”
If approved in November, the restriction on commercially bred bird sales would go into effect after election results are certified.
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