Meeting Information

· The meeting was convened at 5:37 pm by Chairperson Kennedy, who presided during all aspects of the meeting.

· Commissioners in attendance: Chair Laurie Kennedy, Vice-Chair Sherri Franklin, Kelly Jensen, Susan Wheeler, Chin Chi, Joanne Kipnis, Vicky Guldbech, Bill Herndon, and Elissa Eckman

· Commissioners absent: none (with the exception of Jack Breslin from the Health Dept. and Dan McKenna from Rec & Park who attend on an as-needed basis)

- Deniz Bolbol stated that the San Francisco Zoo is unable to meet the environmental requirements for elephants and commented that recommendations made by the Board of Supervisors have not been met in the last four years. She added that she wanted the commission to put issue on the next agenda.

- Elliot Katz from In Defense of Animals stated that he had copies for the commissioners of the elephant's medical records and the causes of Calli's foot condition.

- Madeline B. stated there is sanctuary called the "The Elephant Sanctuary" in New York.

- Lisa Vittori inquired about the process in place for a dog play area. She requested a statement from the Animal Care and Control.

- Julie Ruffers stated that the Zoo Director said the facilities were adequate for the elephants. She commented however that the conditions were not adequate and they haven't been for the last five years.

· Minutes were amended and approved with corrections

· Welcomes everyone and mentions that chair terms are coming up in the month of April for herself, Joanne Kipnis, and Veterinarian Kelly Jensen. An appointment hearing will take place with the Rules Committee in April.

· She thanked Commissioner Jensen for doing the minutes for the past two months

a. Live-Animal-Markets

· Commissioner Kipnis stated she and Commissioner Wheeler have been doing research on past commission work done on this subject. They may bring the item to the table again at some point in the future

· No public comment

b. Website Updates

· Commissioner Kipnis shared updates she has made on the Commission's the website such as linking with other city commissions, agencies, and community groups relevant to animals.

· No public Comment

a. Cat Declawing Ban

· Commissioner Wheeler reported that some changed have been made with regard to the state proposal to ban declawing on large cats. Legislative proposal to be heard in Sacramento on the 12th.

· No communication yet received from Supervisor Sandoval about our recommendation. She will continue follow-up.

· Commissioner Guldbech reported that she would begin tracking declawed cats that enter ACC. A reporting system needs to be developed using the ACC software to do so.

· No public comment

b. Responsible Dog Guardianship legislation package

· Commissioner Franklin stated that the city attorney is reviewing the Humane Care of Dogs legislation we developed.

· Commissioner Kennedy stated that she would be getting letters of support for the Humane Care legislation from the SFSPCA and SF Dog.

· Commissioner Franklin stated that she would like to move forward with the Humane Care recommendation and questioned whether to present the legislation as a package or separately

· Commissioner Herndon described situations as the Vicious & Dangerous Dog hearing officer where he has seen fit to suspend dog ownership/guardianship for negligent and/or abusive people. The city attorney advised that the legal code be altered to accommodate that action.

· Commissioner Guldbech described the penalties animal abusers currently face.

· The Commission decided to agendize Commissioner Herndon's item next month for discussion.

· Public comment:

- Lisa Vittori requested that a section be included in the Humane Care of Dogs legislation that would required exercise for dogs who are living in confined conditions

- Commissioner Guldbech discussed the difficulty in enforcing exercise requirements

a. Live-animal testing: Cambridge-type ordinance

· Commissioner Kennedy stated that this item needed to be continued until next month.

a. Trap-Neuter-Adopt-Return (TNR) Proposal

· Commissioner Chi read an introduction of the item and included overview and reasons for bringing forth this proposal. She proposed a TNR resolution be recommended to the Supervisors to help control the overpopulation cat homelessness in SF. She added that the trap-neuter-adopt-return term has been successful. She added that New York has a program in place, which is working well, that helps homeless cats and endangered species.

· Commissioner Wheeler stated that if "TNR" is national recognized the word "adopt" should be taken out. She added that wording about adoption could be added as one of the "whereas" statements in the resolution body. She added that it's misleading and they should stick to the original terminology.

· Commissioner Franklin asked about who exactly would be responsible for the work involved in TNR. She stated that she had worked as a volunteer and from her experience there was never enough volunteers.

· Commissioner Wheeler shared that a group of feral cat volunteers have been working together since last summer to get more people on the volunteer team. She added that Martha Hoffman was a great resource and she worked on the proposal with Commissioner Chi.

· Commissioner Jensen stated that it's a catch-22. She would like to see this kind of proposal go to the board, but she doesn't want to bring it to the board and have it fail.

· Commissioner Wheeler stated that the feral cat volunteer group is continuing to lay the groundwork for this proposal and to have good people to support the work that goes into TNR. She added she would like to put it off for two months, giving the team time to accomplish more and ensure more support of the recommendation by the Supervisors.

· Commissioner Kennedy asked that the "adopt" language discussion be put on hold until a future date. She recommended that commissioners spend the next month determining what groups we need to include in future discussions in order to get buy-in prior to making recommendations to the Board.

· Public comment:

- Ms. Cooper who supports animals in the Bay area Hunters view Point supports the TNR proposal. She added that it was responsible and ethical.

- Ms. Herler supports the TNR resolution and thinks it's a good proposal.

- Elliot Katz supports the TNR resolution and thinks its makes since for the city to support the issue.

- Lisa Vittori supports Commissioner Chi's resolution.

- L'Danyielle Yacobucci stated she supports the TNR resolution but feels the word "adopt" should be removed. She also stated the SF is no longer the safest city in the country for animals.

- June Wilson supports Commissioner Chin's resolution but agrees the word "adopt" doesn't fit.

- Jennifer Drum supports the TNR resolution.

- Patty Hilton supports the TNR resolution and encourages the Commission to adopt it.

- Mary Ann Buxton - Feral Cat Coordinator at the SFSPCA stated she receives a lot of phone calls about feral cats and she would like the to see the resolution passed with the word "adopt" put on hold.

- Martha Hoffman has been doing trapping and adopting for 15 years supports the resolution. She added that "TNR" (without "adopt" in the title) is recognized and San Francisco should use the same language.

- Ms. Hall would be happy to see the resolution passed.

- Ms. Fong asked if could they require a health code requirement.

- Elsa Davis supports the resolution and feels that its good information for the public.

b. Proposal to recommend pieces of the "Responsible Dog Guardianship" package separately

· Introduced by Commissioner Franklin. She has received positive feedback about the Humane Care of Dogs legislation and mixed feedback about the Bite-and-Run legislation. She opened discussion about recommending them separately.

· Given that Commissioner Herndon would like to introduce add ional proposed legislation piece to the package next month, Commissioner Kennedy moved that we discuss this item in more depth next month.

· No public comment

- Bob O'Brien described experiments being done on dogs at UCSF. He wants the experiments and believes continual pressure will help. He requested a copy of the Cambridge Ordinance.

· Commission discussed their office and want to make sure they still have the space and voicemail

· Commissioner Kipnis - continue working on website updates

· Commissioner Kipnis - continue working on commissioner orientation packet

· Commissioner Kennedy - finish commission pamphlet

· Commissioners Kennedy & Herndon - meet to develop draft legislation for next meeting to suspend animal guardianship privileges

· Commissioner Kennedy - follow-up on support letters for the Responsible Dog Guardianship Package

· All - identify groups that would have interests in a TNR proposal

· Commissioner Wheeler continue follow-up with Sandoval regarding ban on declawing

· Meeting adjourned at 7:26pm