County Ordinance allows dogs on Shell Key, but …

County staff has argued that banning dogs will put us in compliance with County Ordinance 2-6. However, they do not mention that allowing dogs is ALSO in compliance with ordinance 2-6. The ordinance states that “Where permitted, domestic animals must be confined to designated areas…”

So, the idea that we are currently in violation of the law is false.

County staff has also suggested that a compromise on dogs has been tried and failed. This is utterly false. The county waited until 2002 – when they quietly added a 2-month ban to the island’s already ineffective signage – informing no one. Furthermore, there has NEVER been any effort to manage visitors and pets on the island with proper signage or law enforcement.

In 7 years of management, there has been no effort whatsoever to bring pet owners into compliance with the rules. In fact, this issue has been deliberately ignored in an effort to characterize the problem as unsolvable.

Now, we have propose a practical and viable plan to bring pet owners into compliance with better signage and enforcement – yet county staff does not wish to even try this alternative to zero-tolerance. Why?

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