Bay County commissioners on May 6 adopted a set of revisions to Chapter 4 of the Bay County Code of Ordinances addressing animal control, nuisance barking, trapping and related procedures. The ordinance received extended discussion during a public hearing and was approved by unanimous roll call.

County Attorney presented the package of proposed amendments and said the changes cover 10 topic areas, including trapping, rabies and quarantine procedures, dangerous‑dog provisions, clarifying the process for notifying owners when lost pets are found and impounded, and refining the county’s noise/nuisance language. The office also identified several non‑substantive, technical edits.

Discussion focused on the section that defines “persistently or continuously” barking. The existing draft tied the nuisance standard to a period of 30 minutes or to 30 individual interruptions of less than 20 seconds. Several commissioners and members of the public urged shortening that interval. One commissioner said 30 straight minutes of barking indicates a serious problem and proposed 15 minutes; other members and staff raised operational concerns about evidence collection and enforcement if the period were too short.

Animal Control staff reported that barking complaints are not frequent — roughly two per month — and that their enforcement process requires two affidavits from neighbors within an 800‑foot radius before animal control can proceed. Staff warned that changing the threshold to a shorter interval could increase the number of neighbor‑dispute complaints filed.

After discussion, the commission modified the proposed ordinance to set the nuisance threshold at 20 minutes for persistently or continuously barking animals (excluding enumerated commercial and licensed kennel exceptions) and approved the ordinance on a unanimous roll call.

What changed: the adopted ordinance keeps a clarified definition for “persistently or continuously” (including the 30‑interruptions formulation) but reduces the minimum persistent barking period to 20 minutes to balance enforcement practicality and neighbor concerns. The ordinance also retained the other technical and procedural updates presented by the county attorney.

Enforcement and coordination: commissioners and staff clarified that noise‑ordinance enforcement (decibel or broader noise issues) is handled by law enforcement or municipal police, while nuisance animal‑control citations are civil citations issued by Animal Control under Chapter 4 procedures. The county’s contractual obligations with municipalities require municipal ordinances to mirror county language where Bay County provides animal‑control services.

Why this matters: the change affects how neighbors, law enforcement and Animal Control respond to reported excessive‑barking incidents across unincorporated Bay County and in municipalities served under county contract. The modified 20‑minute standard is intended to make enforcement feasible while addressing complaints about prolonged barking.