Fairbanks borough weighs animal forfeiture power it now lacks

Fairbanks North Star Borough animal control officers cannot permanently take an animal from an owner who refuses to provide humane care. Their options are limited to education, assistance, a citation, or referral to police. "Fines are our only punitive (punishment) action for failure to comply with code requirements," staff wrote in answers prepared for the Animal Control Commission.

The commission meets Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, at 6 p.m. in the Chizmar Conference Room at the Juanita Helms Administration Center to work through a proposed forfeiture section of Title 22. No final action will be taken.

Forfeiture would end an owner's rights and give the borough ownership, with authority to adopt the animal out or euthanize it. The draft lists seven triggers, including a cruelty conviction, a court order, or failure to redeem an animal in protective custody within 10 business days when no court petition has been filed, plus other failures to reclaim, redeem or pay quarantine costs.

Current code offers only surrender and abandonment. Animal control has no mechanism to impound an animal simply because it is being abused or neglected. "The current code fails to provide adequate

ways for an animal to be impounded and

fails to provide mechanisms that allow the

borough to assume immutable ownership of

an animal," wrote Raeanne Ross, the borough's lead animal control officer. The changes have been in development since January 2026, which Ross attributed to the severe cold of the 2025-26 winter.

The packet also proposes mandatory reporting of cruelty or inhumane care by animal care professionals, impoundment for an animal's own health and welfare for not less than five working days, and a three-year Animal Property Certification for properties keeping more than 10 animals of one species or more than 20 animals total. Mayoral comments ask for stray holds of three working days without owner contact and five with contact.

Ross flagged a gap herself, noting the forfeiture provisions may need an adjudication process, such as an appeal to the commission. The Animal Legal Defense Fund says nationally that defendants facing forfeiture must receive due process to protect civil rights and property interests. The borough's draft does not yet specify that process.