2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 COMMISSION OF ANIMAL CONTROL AND WELFARE
Mailing Address: 1390 Market Street, Room 822
San Francisco, CA 94102
Voice Mail: (415) 252-3817
Draft Minutes of Meeting - October 10, 2002
1. Call to order and roll call
The meeting was convened at 5.30p.m. by Chair Eckman, who presided during all aspects of the meeting. Seven Commissioners (or their lawful designates) holding valid appointments being present, the quorum requirement of Section 6 of the Commission's Rules & Regulations (50 percent of those eligible to vote) was satisfied.
Commissioners in Attendance: Chair Elissa Eckman, Vice-Chair Sherri Franklin, Secretary June Wilson, Laurie Kennedy, Cheryl Bentley, Jamal Modica, Kelly Jensen DVM, Jack Breslin, Dept of Health, Carl Friedman, Animal Care & Control, Sgt. Bill Herndon, SFPD Rosa Sanchez, City Attorney.
Also, the continued absence of Recreation and Park.
2. Public Comment
The Chair opened the meeting to public comment.
Eric Mills, Action for Animals, stated that he had given all commissioners Paw Pac brochures and had written letters to 4 counties of the Unified School District protesting the coming Rodeo for school children.
3. Approval of the draft minutes of September 12, 2002
The minutes were amended with minor details and unanimously approved by the Commission.
7. e. (out of order)
City attorney Rosa Sanchez told the Commission that the Commission has no authority to recommend that the school district not send children to the coming Rodeo. She suggested writing a letter to the Board of Supes asking them to send a letter to the school district. Ms. Sanchez also made a comment on 9.b to ask the Board to ask a deputy attorney to draft a local version of the Cambridge Ordinance.
Eric Mills asked the Commission to send a letter to the Board about the Rodeo. A requirement by State law to report accidents at Rodeos, none have been reported. Ms. Sanchez advised to write a letter. It was decided to write to the Board asking for a recommendation to ask the Board of Education to stop sending children to the Rodeo. The vote was unanimous.
Ms. Sanchez left at 6p.m.
4. Chairperson's report and opening remarks
a. The Chair welcomed and thanked everyone for coming to the meeting.
b. We now have office space with a small cubicle, a computer and a phone at City Hall, Room 453. The Chair thanked Carl Friedman, Jill Learner, Norm Goldwyn and Bill Lee for making this possible. Our email will be [email protected] There are several things that need to be ironed out before we actually move in.
c. The Chair commended the speakers heard at the Public Works and Protection Committee regarding the treatment of lab animals at UCSF. The Head of UCSF did not attend. In Defense of Animals flew in speakers from out of town. Two nurses from UCSF painted a great picture on how the monkeys were treated. The Committee wants to hear more public comment in the future.
d. The Chair is considering recommending that we hire a political advisor to help us with the live animal market issue.
5. Commissioner Public Comment
None.
.
6. Status and tracking of letters of recommendations approved by Commission requesting action by Board of Supervisors
a. Comm. Jensen stated that she did e-mail Sup. Maxwell but had no reply. She has had no reply to her letter regarding the Live Animal Markets.
7. Committee Reports/Commissioner's Reports
a. Comm. Friedman bought to the Commission the new revised educational posters regarding dog fighting and asked that we pass them out in our neighborhoods.
b. Com. Franklin stated that "Guardian"/owner was heard by the full Board 2 weeks ago and has yet to be signed to a committee.
c. Com. Kennedy stated that Rec & Parks dog policy needed an environmental and financial impact analysis done before any move was made. Com. Kennedy also stated that she had heard that the opposition was more vocal than the pro off leash people, so we need to keep the pressure going.
8. Old Business
Theresa Schultz of Visitation Valley stated that around 6p.m. she heard horrible screams coming from 2 houses away, where apparently a woman was trying to kill chickens. She saw 8 to 10 paper bags with feet sticking out. She was very disturbed as she thought that the woman was not killing the chickens humanely or quickly. She called Animal Control. Talking later with an officer, she was told that that it was legal to kill animals on your own property. Animal Control and the Health Dept. will look into the matter. The law allows no more than 4 animals per household. There was considerable discussion on this subject.
9. New Business
a. Com. Breslin stated that pigeons are a problem in SF, in particular, when there are many of them, it becomes a health problem. He introduced Mr. Clifford Hazelton of Pigeon Solutions of Sacramento. Mr. Hazelton spoke at length about his job of humane removal of the pigeons. He has a coop at his home in Sacramento, has made his own trap where the pigeons go into eat and drink clean water. It is made so that when the pigeons want to leave, they cannot. He keeps them for about a week, then transports them by air-conditioned van and a boat trailer to sparse countryside where there are trees. It is illegal to kill pigeons in SF. He has been capturing and releasing pigeons since he was 8 years old. Mr. Hazelton has had no complaints doing this job. He stated that he had caught and released about 60,000 pigeons. Com. Breslin stated that they would have to give this a lot of thought, will have to speak to the city attorney's office, will have to talk to Fish and Game.
b. Sup. Matt Gonzalez was interested in the Cambridge Ordinance and what we can do and a package was given out by In Defense of Animals. The Creator of this ordinance was Stephen Wise. Cambridge, Mass has the highest number of lab animals in this country. The city of Cambridge passed an ordinance to create an oversight committee of citizens. Hopefully, we could do the same here in SF. Supervisors Gonzalez and Sandoval are very interested in this matter. The Chair read from the Cambridge Ordinance, "The city Manager shall appoint a commissioner of lab animals for the purpose of overseeing the care and use of lab animals in the city". It was moved that we work on a draft letter for this matter and also write a letter to the Public Works and Protection Committee thanking them for their help on UCSF. The vote was unanimous.
7. d. The flyer was approved and now Com. Franklin and Kennedy are getting together with a graphics person, as they need a logo.
10.Public Comment
No public comment
11.Calendar Items
Com. Modica is doing animal projects at schools. He wants to do a video on the Commission to show school children.
12.Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 7.22p.m. motion by Com. Franklin, seconded by Com. Jensen.
Dated: 12th October 2002
Wilson, Secretary __________________