JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Overcrowding and the need for more adoptions have long been trends at the city of Jacksonville’s Animal Care & Protective Services; however, there’s now hope that those lingering issues could change.

Jacksonville city councilman Raul Arias has now proposed a new city ordinance that would cut the mandatory holding period for stray animals or runaway pets from 6 days to 3 for ACPS.

“Most people reclaim their pets if their pet’s lost within 24 to 48 hours. So having that six-day straight hold is far too long,” ACPS Chief Michael Bricker explained to Action News Jax on Tuesday. “So they’re going to be ready and available for adoption within three days now.”

Chief Bricker said Tuesday that ultimately, the goal is to speed up adoptions and reduce overcrowding in the city’s shelter.

“Those additional days that they’re here, even if it’s just three, four, even if just one extra day, contributes to us having more animals in the kennel that don’t need to be here,” Bricker said.

Kim Barry, a pet owner herself, told Action News Jax on Tuesday that she has concerns the change could hurt pet owners’ chances of reuniting with their lost loved ones before they’re adopted out to other families, but that she ultimately empathizes with ACPS and the city’s goal at hand.

“Everyone’s squeezed right now, and it’s hard, you know, and it may not seem like it’s a lot, but six days, it does add up with a lot of different animals, and then you’re dealing with the idea of like, the more animals, are there going to be more dog fights? Is someone going to get injured? Is another dog going to get injured? I think these are all factors,” Barry said.

The proposed legislation would also add more clarification for when and how ACPS issues citations, which Bricker added will be a needed update to their currently outdated rules.

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