Council Liveblog - Misdemeanor for Pets in Hot Cars Approved

The City Council has unanimously approved a measure which would make it a crime to lock animals in vehicles on hot days. 

Under the new law, it would be a class three misdemeanor animal cruelty offense to confine an animal inside an enclosed vehicle when the outside temperature is 70 degrees or more and inside temperatures are above 85. Animal control officers or police officers would be able to remove animals found in such conditions. The owner would be required to pay for any resulting veterinary expenses.

A memo from Fredericksburg Chief of Police David Nye said that the police frequently respond to reports of unattended animals left in hot vehicles. During the meeting, Nye said that his department responded to between 10 and 20 such incidents. 

"On a hot or warm and sunny days, the inside of a car heats up very quickly," wrote Nye in a memo to City Council. "On an 85 degree day, even with the windows slightly opened, the temperature inside a car can reach 102 degrees within 10 minutes and 120 degrees within 30 minutes."

Under those conditions, an animal can quickly develop life threatening heatstroke.