Pet owners living in the Meridian city limits will be required to register their furry friends in a few months after the City Council on Tuesday voted to adopt an ordinance creating the registration system.

In a 4-1 vote, the council approved a request from Meridian Animal Control to implement the registration system to reunite lost pets with their human owners.

Animal Control Supervisor Brian McCary told council members the registration system, which will cost $5, will include a tag to go on the animal’s collar as well as a microchip embedded under the pet’s fur. If an animal is lost, he said, animal control officers will be able to scan that microchip and retrieve the pet owner’s information.

“We want to be able to take the animals we find and get them back to the owners,” he said.

McCary said having both a collar tag and a microchip maximizes the chances of being able to reunite lost pets with their owners, even in situations where a collar may have been lost or torn off. In addition to a local system maintained by animal control, the registration information will also go into a national database, which can be useful if animals were stolen or taken across state lines.

Pet registrations can also prove useful in addressing problem animals and holding residents accountable when they are not being responsible pet owners, he said.

Councilman George Thomas said he understood the idea behind the registration but could not bring himself to vote for what he saw as increasing government interference.

“I don’t want to require animals be registered,” he said. “I don’t like the government doing that.”

Although he voted against it, Thomas said he will likely register his dog once the new ordinance goes into effect.

Registration fees will go toward the animal shelter’s goal of spaying and neutering all animals that are brought to the shelter. The council on Tuesday authorized animal control to apply for a We Care grant through the Mississippi Board of Animal Health that will also be put toward that goal.

McCary said the shelter is currently working to get every adopted animal spayed or neutered, waiting until an animal is adopted to schedule the procedure.

“The grant will get us headed in that direction, but we’re still a ways out from doing that,” he said.

The registration ordinance was one of several changes to the city’s laws recommended by Meridian Animal Control and the city’s animal control advisory board. The council also approved increasing the maximum length of a tether to 12 feet, up from six feet, and numerous changes to the way ordinances are worded and how fines and fees are structured for violations.

McCary said animal control is working to purchase the tags, chips and equipment needed before the pet registration system can go live. The goal, he said, is to begin registering pets after the first of the year.