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Seward County, Kansas May Consider Repeal of 20-Year Old “Pit Bull” Ban
Editor’s note: It is unfortunate that there is so much disinformation out there. City councils and city attorneys are repeatedly misinformed by those with an agenda about the supposed effectiveness and constitutionality of breed-specific legislation (BSL). The constant stream of repealed BSL nationally and internationally of late illustrates the ineffectiveness of BSL, and…
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Elkader, Iowa May Consider Breed Restrictions
Editor’s note: The Hopkinton incident illustrates the danger, not of a specific breed, but of dogs that are constantly penned, unsocialized, and abused. If Elkader seeks to be proactive, they should do what Hopkinton didn’t: respond in a timely manner to calls from citizens about possible animal abuse. Folks want to point a…
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Beatrice, Nebraska Considering Breed-Specific Ordinance for “Pit Bulls”
Editor’s note: A breed-specific ordinance, whether an outright ban or breed-specific restrictions like Beatrice is considering, is still ineffective, unenforceable, and unconstitutional. And while DNA tests (which are not at all as reliable as the public has been made to believe and certainly not enough to withstand a legal challenge) have been proposed as…
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Illinois HB 1080: An Update
All Illinoisans with a dog should know by now that Rep. John Bradley’s HB 1080, if passed, would allow breed-specific legislation — meaning breed bans and breed-specific restrictions — in any municipality in Illinois. HB 1080 was in the House Agriculture & Conservation Committee for many weeks, but every time HB 1080 came up…
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Oklahoma State Supreme Court overturns Midwest City, Oklahoma’s “Pit Bull” ban
Editor’s note: See? Municipalities who pass these breed-specific ordinances have no idea how to enforce them because “pit bull” is not a breed and so “pit bulls” become whatever arbitrary designation the ordinance wants them to be. Used to be they defined “pit bulls” as American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, and…
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Illinois HB 1080: What Illinois Representative John Bradley Doesnt Know about Animal Control Could Amount to Alot of Dead Dogs
March 18, 2011 update: According to HB 1080’s status page, HB 1080 has been kicked back down to the Rules Committee where its sponsor is most likely hoping for an assignment to a more amenable committee. We hope HB 1080 dies a well-deserved, dishonorable death in the Rules Committee because the bill and its…
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“Pit Bull” Guru says misunderstood breed is good family dog
Editor’s note: There are some surprising statistics in this article, like that in the U.S., 5,479 “pit bulls” are killed daily in shelters. Boy if that doesn’t just break your heart, I don’t know what would! Great article with lots of great quotables. From the Danville News in Danville, Pennsylvania: [Drayton Michaels of…
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Denver Violates Dog Owners’ Due Process Rights…Again
Editor’s note: The Denver Daily News article didn’t mention the 2004 case of Margolius v. the City of Denver in which it was demonstrated that “all of Denver’s animal control officers were disqualified because they could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt they could identify what is known as the American Pit Bull Terrier” as…
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Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana May Consider Breed Restrictions for “Pit Bulls”
Feb. 22, 2011 update. Councilman Kevin Voisin sent the following regarding Monday’s meeting: “…We are sending the issue back fo more work and it will be reviewed soon. One of the issues we identified as needing work at our meeting last night was to avoid a breed specific ordinance. Thanks for all…
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Friday Harbor, Washington May Consider Breed-Specific Ordinance
Feb. 24, 2011 update: Word is that BSL was voted down in Friday Harbor, 3-2. That’s close, so folks please stay vigilant. Editor’s note: It looks like a discussion of BSL is on the agenda for tomorrow’s council meeting: http://www.fridayharbor.org/PDF/Council%20Packet/021711/dog.pdf If you’re in the area, you may want to attend. Otherwise, please write…