AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) – The City of Amarillo’s Animal Management & Welfare Board met to discuss potential ordinances and programs to help with the increasing animal population.
The board voted unanimously to present a possible ordinance to city council for mandatory microchipping of all dogs and cats in Amarillo.
The ordinance was presented to the board, stating that microchipping of dogs and cats would be required in Amarillo. Without a medical exemption, failure to comply would be a Class C misdemeanor, which could include a fine.
“Just trying to address the issues that we’re having right now with overcrowding at the shelter, and microchipping has proven, we’ve done a lot of free micro-chip clinics in the last three years. And we now see the data where that’s really helped us keep animals out of the shelters and return them back to their owners,” said Victoria Medley, director for the Amarillo Animal Management and Welfare.
The board discussed the need to have stricter rules about microchipping pets due to the overwhelmingly positive data, the hope for less euthanasia, and cutting down on costs.
“It’s much cheaper to microchip an animal than to have an animal impounded, so this actually can save taxpayers’ dollars in the long run if we simply do not have animals impounded. It’s also less traumatic for our shelter staff, the animal, and their owners for them not to go to the shelters,” said Andrea Slater Gulley, chair of the Animal Management and Welfare Advisory Board.
Another discussion item was how the City plans to implement this ordinance and the timeline if it were to be approved by the city council.
“This isn’t something that we’re asking animal control officers who are driving around to stop and scan an animal. This is more of a, if your animal is loose, they would have that micro-chip, hopefully, and if not, understand the requirement is that they have to have that. Hopefully, they’ll proactively be micro-chipped and just simply get home. So, this isn’t a gotcha thing; this is a preventative type of measure we’re looking for,” said Gulley.
If approved by the council, the board has recommended that this will not go into effect until January 2026 to give Amarillo residents a grace period to microchip their pets and get educated.
This was just a recommendation from the board; the city council will have final approval on the ordinance.
Next steps will include presenting this to the council for discussion to see if it passes.
We will continue to follow this and provide an update once it becomes available.
