A proposed ordinance that would reduce the time Jacksonville animal shelters must hold stray pets before putting them up for adoption continues to draw mixed reactions from the community as officials hosted another public discussion on Thursday.

The ordinance would cut the current six-day hold period to three days for unidentified strays, while maintaining the longer hold time for pets with identification tags or registered microchips.

“What happens is that the shelter doesn’t have the capacity, so they’re overcrowding the shelters and, in some cases, having the animals double-booked in the kennel,” Jacksonville City Councilman Raul Arias explained.

Arias, who introduced the measure, also explained that the proposed change would align Jacksonville with other Florida municipalities that

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