CENTRAL POINT — Exotic pets ranging from wolves to raccoons to large snakes could be banned in town under a new ordinance before the City Council.
The council will consider the animal ordinance at 7 tonight in City Hall, 140 S. Third St., Central Point.
The proposed law would allow existing pets to be grandfathered in if they are registered with city code enforcement officials by March 12.
The current policy on keeping pets came under scrutiny after neighbors of Blue Grass Downs homeowner Nick Kessler complained about Kessler's pet bobcat, Kona. The Kessler family moved into the subdivision — across from a city park — last summer.
Oregon state law permits bobcats to be kept as pets if they are obtained through an outside source, if they are not taken from the wild and if no local ordinance prohibits them. The Kesslers have obtained a permit from the local Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife office to keep the 60-pound Kona, one of a half-dozen bobcats registered in Jackson County and 54 in the state.
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If the ordinance is approved, Kessler would be permitted to keep Kona, but he would not be allowed to buy a "replacement animal" in the future.
Kessler said that while he felt the proposed ordinance was "a little excessive" and that the city had no legitimate reasons to ban certain types of pets, he would be happy simply for permission to continue keeping Kona.
"That's fair enough because I could always live somewhere else, you know? I just didn't want to be in the position where I have a $500,000 house and have to leave because I have a cat I won't get rid of," Kessler said.
Mayor Hank Williams said the council could opt to approve the ordinance as proposed, take out the grandfather clause or reject it altogether.
"I can't predict what's going to happen," Williams said.
Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. E-mail her at buffypollock@juno.com.
