SR-091107-13C13-C
September 11, 2007
Council Meeting: September 11, 2007 Santa Monica, California
CITY CLERK'S OFFICE -MEMORANDUM
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Councilmember McKeown
Date: September 11, 2007
13-C: Request of Councilmember McKeown, pursuant to a report from Police
Chief Timothy Jackman responding to resident concerns about the display
of animals on the Promenade and elsewhere, that the Council direct staff to
investigate a simple low- or no-cost permit process for~egitimate animal
adoption organizations.
13-C
~ September 11, 2007
~~r
;;Y o, Information Item
Santa Monica
August 9, 2007
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Timothy J. Jackman, Chief of Police
Subject: Public Exhibition of Animals
Introduction
On June 19, 2007, Julien Isaacs and several others spoke before the City Council (Item
12-A) expressing their concern for the treatment of animals that are exhibited in public
places, specifically referencing three persons who display animals on the Third Street
Promenade. This report furnishes information regarding these individuals and how the
Cities of Santa Monica and Los Angeles regulate persons who display animals in public.
Discussion
The City of Santa Monica does not specifically regulate animal acts or exhibitions.
Various animal-related codes are applicable to anyone with an animal in public. These
range from State and local laws concerning proper care and treatment of animals, to
City municipal codes requiring that animals in unenclosed areas be in the custody and
control of the owner at all times. The Cal'rfornia Department of Fish and Game requires
anyone owning or possessing an exotic species to maintain a valid permit.
The City of Los Angeles requires anyone who exhibits or displays animals to obtain and
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maintain a permit and to pay an annual fee of $150. Prior to granting a permit, City staff
reviews the application and conducts an inspection of the performer's act and may also
require a site visit to verify proper conditions of care where the applicant's animals are
housed.
Those who spoke at the June 19, 2007 Council meeting referenced three animal
exhibitors as examples for why Santa Monica should prohibit the activities of such
persons:
Anfhony Barbato
Mr. Barbato operates an enterprise called Monk-N-Me, in which he performs with a
trained capuchin monkey that entertains the public and earns money from tips collected
directly by the monkey from audience members. Animal Control has received
occasional calls questioning the humanness of a primate in captivity being used for
public amusement. The condition and treatment of Mr. Barbato's capuchin monkeys
has always been found by officers to be good. His monkeys are tethered in a manner
that provides for their proper control as required by law, but with sufficient slack to
permit their performance. No reports of a bite involving his monkeys have been
documented, and Mr. Barbato stated he has never had a problem. Mr. Barbato
possesses valid permits required by the Department of Fish and Game to own or
possess capuchin monkeys.
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Mr. Barbato stated that he has home-bred his monkeys and that the mother of those
that currently perform remains in good health at the age of 32. Sergeant Alonzo Real,
of Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control indicated that annual inspections of his
residence and his animals in Littlerock have always resulted in an 'A' rating:
Leonid Vaisman
Mr. Vaisman pertorms with `Psychic Cats' that are a pair of domesticated felines trained
to .select a paper fortune from among many contained in a basket. An audience
member selects a cat to retrieve a fortune for them, at which time a tip is expected for
their performance. The particular fortune selected by the cat is presumably by random
chance. Animal Control receives periodic calls regarding the Psychic Cats from
persons who typically allege the cats must be drugged or that Mr. Vaisman has a dirty
appearance and rude demeanor, and that he must therefore mistreat his cats. Officers,
whenever they have assessed Mr. Vaisman's cats, have found them to be alert and well
cared for and no sign of mistreatment has ever been found. While cats that willingly
perch calmly on a table-top in the midst of a crowd are rare, Mr. Vaisman said he
adopts his cats from animal shelters when they are young and conditions them to
perform using only food rewards and much patience.
While Mr. Vaisman's act involves adopting the appearance and persona of a gruff
Gypsy, he has always been polite and spoken willingly with Animal Control staff. He
stated that he rotates his cats each time he pertorms from among the six that he owns,
and that he limits the time of his pertormances to no more then four hours per evening.
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This has been verified by Police personnel assigned to Downtown. Mr. Vaisman
performs only once or twice per month due to his deteriorating health
Patricia Stake
Patricia Stake operates Lost Angels. Her literature describes Lost Angels as a "not-for-
profit organization" and "a global network of caring people and organizations dedicated
to the welfare of animals in every community." Ms. Stake regularly sets up a display on
the 1300 block of Third Street with her literature, donation jar, and several cats.
Although Animal Control has received periodic calls regarding her cats sitting in cages,
they have not been found to be improperly cared for while being displayed. Other
complaints have alleged that Ms. Stake charges arbitrary adoption fees, requests cash
payments, fails to provide receipts, selects adopters based on their ability to give a large
donation, and that she has released unspayed or unneutered cats to adopters. These
allegations have not been substantiated.
In 2002, Animal Control inspected Ms. Stake's Santa Monica residence in response to a
complaint alleging that animals in her care were being neglected. Officers found a total
of 11 cats and kittens, some of which were confined in small carriers, and determined
that Ms. Stake's small apartment had inadequate ventilation. She was issued an order
to correct these substandard conditions and subsequently was found to be in
compliance.. No further complaints alleging animal neglect have since been received.
Ms. Stake said that her adoption fees vary, but that she normally charges $150
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Although Ms. Stake asserts that she spays or neuters all pets prior to adoption, one of
two veterinary clinics she said that she primarily uses to perform these procedures had
no record of performing surgeries for her, and the other indicated they've performed
about 10 spay/neuter surgeries in the past year. When asked where animals awaiting
adoption are housed, Ms. Stake said that her "couple dozen" cats are all fostered by
volunteers. When asked if Animal Control staff could speak to or visit any of her foster
volunteers, she stated "none would be willing to go along with that." When asked what
that meant, Ms. Stake said that she has about 30-40 active volunteers who are all busy
professionals and that because the FBI informed her that Animal Control staff has
talked to the Animal Liberation Front, none of her volunteers would want to be contacted
or would permit home inspections. Animal Control has never communicated with the
ALF.
Ms. Stake also stated that she is trying to finish processing her 501(c)(3) application
and is spending most of her time on administrative matters with her organization. The
California Secretary of State's office received Articles of Incorporation for Lost Angels
as anon-profit corporation on November 28, 2001. Lost Angels has never registered
with or reported to the State Attorney General as is required by law. These facts have
been furnished to the Internal Revenue Service.
Summary
Animal Control staff can adequately monitor animals displayed in public by street
performers or others to ensure their proper care while being exhibited. There is no
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provision, as the City of Los Angeles has, that authorizes Santa Monica staff to assess
the care given to such animals where they are housed or boarded.
Neither the Humane Society of the United States or the Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals has a position opposing street performers or others who exhibit
animals. The SPCA recommends that local agencies establish a permit process to
enable oversight of such activities.
At the December 13, 2005 Council meeting, a motion was passed directing staff to
cease enforcement of those zoning codes that restrict non-profit groups from setting up
pet adoptions in outdoor areas. At the June 19, 2007 Council meeting, the speaker who
expressed concern for cats displayed by Patricia Stake stated she did not want to inhibit
activities by non-profit pet adoption groups. A simple low- or no-cost permit process for
legitimate animal adoption organizations that seek safe outdoor locations for mobile
adoption events would enable City staff to verify the non-profit status of applicants.
Those not affiliated with a registered non-profit organization could be denied a permit to
exhibit animals in a public place. This would restrict the ability of those who take
advantage of the public's sympathy for animals from profiting in the City of Santa
Monica.
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