KC DOG BLOG

Nevada one step closer to prohibiting laws targeting breeds

Earlier today, Nevada AB 110 passed a vote in the state Senate. AB 110 would prohibit laws targeting specific breeds of dogs on the state level. It passed the Senate with a vote of 20-1. 

This bill has already passed the House of Representatives with a unanimous vote.

Thus, the bill, which has passed both houses with only ONE dissenting vote, awaits the governor's signature to become law.

I've often noted that professionals with experience in canine behavior almost unanimously oppose laws targeting specific breeds,  but now, the growing trend is that there is virtually no support for laws targeting breeds among legislators either.  

Nevada is now set to join 14 other states with provisions AGAINST breed-specific laws -- including Massachusetts which passed a similar law last year.

The trend is clear. And finally, we're moving further and further away from breed-specific policies toward effective policies based on the behavior of an animal, not how it looks.

Wooster, OH repeals breed-specific law

On Monday night, the city of Wooster, OH unanimously approved a change in their law that makes it no longer breed-specific. The change comes a year after the state of Ohio repealed its breed-specific statutes.

According to the report from Stop BSL, the head of the Laws and Ordinances Comittee, Mrs. Knapic, noted that since news of the potential repeal had become public via the media they had received zero calls from people who didn't want them to change the law and a lot of support for changing it.

So the community made the unanimous decision to repeal its breed-specific law, as so many others have done in recent years.

Congrats to the fine folks in Wooster on their decision to repeal their 13 year old law.

 

 

Orrville, OH repeals breed-specific law

Like many communities in Ohio, Orrville had a long-standing breed-specific law targeting pit bulls in their community that was modeled after the state law.

A year ago, the state of Ohio passed HB 14 into law, and repealed the state-wide prohibitions on pit bulls.

Since that time, nearly a dozen communities in Ohio have removed their local pit bull legislation, including Lebanon, Strongville, Geneva on the Lake, North Royalton, Painsville, Shreve, Bay Village, Avon Lake, and Cincinnati. Other cities, like Cleveland and Toledo repealed theirs prior to the change in the state law.

Now, Orrville has joined the ranks (thanks to Stop BSL for the hat tip).

Logic, common sense, and expert testimony are clearly beginning to win out over hysteria and nonsense in the talk about dangerous dog laws, and communities are overwhelmingly choosing to go with breed-neutral, behavior-based laws instead of breed-specific ones.

Congrats to the community of Orrville.

Massachusetts cities end breed discrimination

Back in August, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed bill 2184 into law -- a law that was a fairly comprehensive animal control bill that, among other things, made targeting breeds of dogs in city ordinances illegal, including over-riding all current local breed-specific laws. It also restricts the amount of time a dog may be tethered, creates fudning for a statewide spay/neuter program, and bans the use of the gas chamber for euthanasia.

At the time, two cities in Massachusetts had outright bans on 'pit bull-type" dogs, while several others places restrictions on pit bulls.

Then, in Marshfield, animal control officer Deni Goldman explained the changes to their selectmen -- noting that "Basically what this does is make owners more responsible for the actions of their pets, rather than saying that the reason that a pet misbehaved was because it was a breed of a certain type."

Well said.

Martha's Vinyard also appears to be making some changes to their local bylaws in order to comply with the new state law.

Meanwhile, the Telegram in Worcester, MA is reporting that that community has removed its breed restrictions without a lot of debate. 

The same is true in Lowell, MA where Mike Keiley of the Animal Advisory Committee noted that now "Animal control is in a better position now to take the laws that are in effect and be able to protect people more effectively. Keily also noted that the state's provision prohibiting breed-specific legislation is progressive compared to other states.

I couldn't agree more.

Like Ohio earlier this year, the new state law in Massachussetts is bringing rapid change to many communities who had old, archaic laws on the books, and positive changes that include targeting aggressive dogs based on their behavior, not based on what they look like.

Very Good Sentences -- Edmonton, AB

"Arguments against breed specific legislation suggest there are significant difficulties deterimining breed, and breed type, based on appearance, thus, any breed ban inevitably results in the creation of subjective, arbitrary factors to determine breed type. There are many contributing factors to most dog bite incidents, including poor breeding practices, inadequate socialization and training, health or behavioral issues and inadequate supervision and/or control of the dog. Bylaws that are breed neutral and ensure that aggressive dogs (regardless of breed) are not a continued threat to public safety and are the most consistent and fair approach."

Last week, the city of Edmonton repealed its breed-specific law targeting pit bulls. This is just one of many sentences in an overview report of the reasons why Edmonton should, or should not, repeal its breed-specific law. It's also important to note that the administration contacted seven different major companion animal stakeholders and all, unaniomously supported a repeal of the breed-specific law -- showing again, a complete lack of professional support for laws targeting specific breeds.

You can read the entire overview here.

Edmonton, AL repeals law targeting 'pit bulls'

Earlier today, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, repealed its law targeting specific breeds of dogs.

Until today, the law required owners of American Pit Bull Terriers, Stafforshire Terriers, and Staffordshire Bull Terriers to pay higher licensing fees, have $1 million insurance policies, and muzzle their dogs in public -- in the same way dogs with actual bite histories were required to do.

But today, the council approved a law that eliminates the breed-specific language.

Edmonton has a population of over 800,000 people, and is the second largest city in Alberta. Alberta's largest city, Calgary, has long been an example of how laws targeting dogs (and owners) based on their behavior were more effective at improving public safety than laws targeting specific breeds.

Today, Edmonton joins 20 other North American jurisdictions that have repealed breed-specific laws -- including the entire state of Ohio, and the state of Massachussetts outlawing laws targeting specific breeds.

Congrats to everyone in Edmonton.

Manchester, Mo repeals breed-specific law

Last night, city aldermen in Manchester, MO (suburban St. Louis) unanimously voted to repeal the city's breed-specific law that automatically declared 'pit bulls' as vicious based on appearance.

The city was facing a lawsuit over the ordinance based on the vagueness of the appearance-based language -- the change in the law was in response to the lawsuit. Alderman Michael Clement, who sponsored the bill, told the Patch that the new ordinance was the result of much research and written to be consistent with St. Louis County's animal control ordinance that is behavior-based, and doesn't include references to specific breeds. 

Manchester has now joined two other St. Louis suburbs in their repeal of breed-specific laws this year. Wentzville, MO repealed its law back in March, and Town and Country repealed its law in August.

More good news on the breed-specific law front as more and more communities continue to realize that expert opinion overwhelmingly opposes laws based on appearance in support of laws focused on behavior.

Very Good Sentences -- Breed specific law repealed in Town & Country, MO

Last night, the community of Town and Country, MO voted to repeal their breed-specifc law that automatically declared 'pit bulls' as "vicous".  According to Town & Country Police Captain Gary Hoelzer:

"I think Town and Country is following a trend we are seeing to remove breed-specific language from municipal ordinances and make it behavior- based."

Hoelzer further explained that the community of Town & Country has yet to see a bite by a pit bull. "It's other breeds. So it really isn't breed based. It's how they're raised. Other circumstance."

Hear Hear.

Town & Country is a small community of about 10,000 residents in Suburban St. Louis and is a very upscale community with an average HHI of about $135,000 -- and has joined the rank of progressive communities that are repealing their laws targeting specific breeds. Congrats to Town & Country and their leaders and residents.

Massachusetts state law trumps local laws

A couple of weeks ago, the state legislature in Massachusetts passed a new state law that outlawed the targeting of specific breeds with laws in local communities.  At the time, there was some discussion about whether the state law would over-ride existing breed-specific laws.

Well, after a couple of weeks, it has become clear that existing breed-specific laws will need to be repealed in order to comply with the state law.

Already, several communities are discussing the impact the new state law will have on their local laws.

In Lowell, which passed its pit bull ordinance last year by a narrow 5-4 margin, City Manager Bernie Lynch noted that the state law "may have an impact on whether the pit bull ordinance is sustainable."

In Worcester, they too are considering changes to their law, that was also enacted last year. According to an area lawyer and chairman of the Massachusetts Bar Association's Animal Law Practice Group noted, "I think these breed specific laws have to be changed or they will be invalidated. I find them to be ineffective."

This is definitely great news for dog owners and residents in these communities as the cities are being forced to change their ineffective legislation and change them to more effective laws that will focus dangerous dog resources on dogs that are dangerous based on their BEHAVIOR, not on what they look like (which is never an indicator).

Public policy is definitely building against breed specific laws and toward behavior-based laws. This is great news for dogs, dog owners, and people who prefer more effective public safety policy.

Pit Bull Legal news you can use: Miami, Maryland and the ABA

It's only Tuesday and there has been a LOT of legal news and information this week -- so I'm going to hit a few of the highlights in case you missed them.

Miami Dade set to vote on the repeal of their Pit Bull ban

Miami-Dade has a 23 year old ban on pit bull type dogs. It has been the subject of several legal challenges, including one in which the law violated due process due to the arbitrary nature of enforcement and nearly repealed by the state legislature earlier this spring.

In order to stop the state repeal, the city opted to put the subject up for a vote in a city-wide election -- which will be held next Tuesday, August 14.  County Commissioner Sally Heyman noted that the ban was "an emotional respnse to a travesty in 1989...Now it's time for us to make an intelligent decision."

I don't know if this is the first vote of its kind, but I'm not aware of any other situation where a breed ban has come up for a public vote. It's a tough, up-road battle for the advocates in this situation as most Miami residents haven't seen a law abiding Pit Bull owner in 23 years -- and there are fewer pit bull enthusiasts there than in other places where they aren't banned. However, an August vote will be fairly light at the polls, which could allow for pit bull advocates to be very influential. On the flip side, August elections generally draw older voters who will likely be opposed to the repeal.  

The people opposing the repeal are up their normal fear tactics -- raising fears that if the law is repealed pit bulls are going to be 'running loose all over the place' -- as if Miami's leash law will be repealed also.

There are a lot of high profile advocates down there, including Marlins Pitcher Mark Buerhle and his wife Jamie, and the issue has been getting quite a bit of press (and the repeal got the support of the Miami Herald), so there may be a good turnout. Will be very interesting to watch.

American Bar Association Urges Breed Neutral Laws

Yesterday, the American Bar Association passed Resolution 100 that urges legal professionals to pass breed-neutral dangerous dog laws that focus on behavior of dogs, not their looks. This resolution continues the trend of there being no professional support for breed-specific laws.  Congrats to the folks at the ABA.

Update on Maryland

It looks like the Maryland General Assembly is going to have a special session in which they will discuss making legal changes that will over-ride a very controversial court ruling this spring. This would be a great step in overturning the controvsial and ill-advised court ruling. This would be great to not have to wait until the regular session for this to be inevitably overturned.