San Antonio officials say a proposal to raise fines for people caught abandoning animals is aimed squarely at pet owners who desert their animals — not at rescues or residents who try to help.

The measure, set for a City Council vote Thursday, would increase penalties for animal abandonment within city limits.

State law already makes abandonment a crime, but city leaders say the new fines would strengthen local enforcement.

But some rescue groups have raised concerns about unintended consequences.

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Lea LaPort, founder of No Kill San Antonio, worries the fines could discourage residents who try to return lost pets to their owners or help get them into shelters.

“There might be well intentions, but there’s going to be unintended consequences,” LaPort said.

In response, a city spokesperson told us the ordinance is specifically targeting owners who are abandoning their pets within the city and people who are not licensed or trained from trapping animals in one location and moving them to another.

There is no concern for people who are trying to find homes for animals.

The city also addressed questions about 311 calls.

LaPort shared call recordings where residents were told they may have to release an animal if they couldn’t contain it.

City officials pushed back, saying 311 does not advise residents to abandon animals. Instead, they encourage people to file a stray animal report if they cannot safely take the animal into their care.

The City of San Antonio’s 311 call center does not advise residents to abandon animals; in fact, we strongly advise that residents DO NOT attempt to trap, confine, or take possession of loose or stray animals unless they have the capability to safely hold and care for the animal. Resident should instead file a stray animal report with 311. Animal Care Services uses the data to identify areas where sweeps may be conducted at a later time.

Officials also emphasized that residents who return an animal to the spot where it was found would not face penalties under the proposed changes.

LaPort is urging city leaders to consider education alongside enforcement, and to put these explanations into the proposal’s language.

“Let’s really try to find more solutions than just punitive measures, because it’s way more complex than just that,” she said.

The City Council is expected to take up the proposal on Thursday.

Councilmembers Teri Castillo, Marina Alderete Gavito, and Marc Whyte have submitted a memo to City Manager Erik Walsh, urging the inclusion of the ordinance on the September 11 agenda.

The memo said the proposal was withdrawn from last week’s agenda “by staff at the request of Mayor Jones.”

Mayor Jones sent the following statement about the memo last week:

I appreciate the council members’ advocacy for this legislation, but it is still important to remember that we are a new council and there are several members who did not have an opportunity to review the ordinance. Following the CCR process, all items must be reviewed by the new governance committee and this ordinance did not go through the new committee. These council members are skipping an important step in the legislative process. I believe that our new council has the responsibility to review proposals that did not complete the legislative process in the previous session.