Welcome to the Marcia Fernholz Edition of Glad You Asked. Fernholz, director of environmental health for the City of Racine, helped with each of today's three answers.

Do I need to license my pet?

Yes, if you live in the City of Racine. This answer is relevant to Racine. Contact your municipality if you live outside Racine.

Fernholz said Racine differs from the rest of Racine County. Pet licenses expire on Dec. 31 in Racine and March 31 through the rest of the county. All domesticated animals (dogs, cats, pot-bellied pigs and ferrets) are required by law to be vaccinated and licensed.

It costs $10 if your pet is neutered and $35 if your pet isn't neutered. If you're a senior citizen and your pet is neutered it's only $5. Pot-bellied pigs and ferrets must be neutered and cost $10 to license.

You must purchase a license before Jan. 31 or a late fee of $10 is applied.

As for how many licensed pets you're allowed, you may keep three domesticated animals in a single dwelling unit and two domesticated animals in each unit of a multi-family unit.

To license your pet(s), fill out the application and return it to the Environmental Health Office in Room 1 of City Hall with the fee and a current rabies certificate.

The application is available online at the home page of the Environmental Health Department, which is found at: http://www.cityofracine.org

Click "Departments" on the left side of the page and then click "Health." Click "Environmental Health" and scroll to the middle of the page.

Call the Environmental Health Department at (262) 636-9203 with any questions or concerns.

Is it legal to keep a snake for a pet?

We pinged Fernholz with this question once we finished chatting about birdies. That's the last answer in today's column.

You may keep a snake as a pet. It may not be venomous. You may not keep any venomous reptile as a pet in the City of Racine.

Snakes longer than 10 feet in total length are also prohibited unless you seek written permission. Contact Fernholz' office at (262) 636-9203 for more information.

Is there a law regarding how many bird feeders one can put in their yard? My neighbor sets pans of seeds, nuts and bread on the ground, along with a large pan of water, to bring in large numbers of birds to entertain their cats. But we also get skunks, cats, mice, moles and raccoons, leaving destruction and feces.

We goofed up this question a few weeks ago.

Fernholz said there is no limit on the number of bird feeders one can place in their yard. That's according to City of Racine ordinance 10-100, entitled "Feeding Animals."

"You can have as many bird feeders as you want in your yard," Fernholz said.

However, Fernholz said, it is unlawful to feed birds in a city park or on any beach along Lake Michigan.

It is also illegal for any person to feed a stray, licensable animal, which is a dog, cat, ferret or pot-bellied pig in the City of Racine.

That's right - a pot-bellied pig. How much illegal feeding of the city's licensed pot-bellied pig population takes place, do you think?

Anyhow, Fernholz said she is not aware of an ordinance prohibiting the feeding of stray unlicensable animals - like skunks, cats, mice, moles and raccoons.

However, Fernholz said people must exercise caution and consider their actions when feeding wild animals.

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GYA seeks answers to your questions. Have a question? Call us at (262) 631-1758 or send us an e-mail at: ask@journaltimes.com