CITY COUNCIL TO STUDY PLAN REQUIRING MORE BREEDER'S LICENSES.

Byline: Deborah Sullivan Daily News Staff Writer

Animal owners who fail to spay or neuter their pets may have to pay $100 for a breeder's license, if the city passes a mandatory spay and neuter ordinance proposed by Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas.

The City Council on Tuesday ordered a study of the proposed rule and called for public hearings in each of the city's animal shelter areas.

The city is home to as many as 44,000 stray or abandoned dogs, many of which are sick, injured or bred for aggression, the Animal Services Department estimates. A recent rash of pit bull attacks in the Valley and Central City has focused the spotlight on the public safety threat posed by roving dogs.

Mandatory spaying and neutering would reduce animal overpopulation, and also make dogs less likely to attack, Ridley-Thomas said.

The council motion requires the department of animal services to return in 45 days with a report on whether a mandatory spay and neuter is workable, a comparison with similar ordinances in other cities, and an estimate of the costs of such a program in L.A.

Ridley-Thomas said he hopes to see the program up and running shortly thereafter. ``The urgency is upon us,'' he said. ``We're going to push.''

Animal advocates urged support for the measure, saying it would benefit pets as well as people.

``For those of us who work on behalf of animals and are out there in the streets witnessing the abuse, starvation and death of dogs and cats, it is of paramount importance,'' said Bill Dyer, field representative of In Defense of Animals. ``Sixty thousand dogs and cats will be born this year without a chance to live. With us working together we can bring this epidemic, this tragedy to an end.''

Teri Austin, president of the Amanda Foundation, an animal rescue organization, displayed a collection of breeder advertisements listed in eight Los Angeles newspapers, noting that on a given day, 2,000 puppies were offered for sale at an average of $300 each.

The city's Animal Services Department spends a scant $2.40 per capita, compared with $7.30 per person in Pasadena, Austin said, arguing that boosting breeder and license fees would close the gap.