Category Archives: BSL Defeated

Slater, MO: City decides against BSL

Posted on February 22, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Please THANK Slater officials for their smart decision to drop the breed-specific language in their proposed animal ordinance revisions.

Contact info for Slater officials:
Slater City Hall, 232 N. Main St., Slater, MO 65349
Ph: 660.529.2271
Fax: 660.529.2593
info@cityofslater.com

All alerts for Slater: http://stopbsl.com/?s=%22slater%2C+mo%22

Slater Council workshops pending animal laws

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

By MAGGIE MENDERSKI/Staff Writer

The Slater City Council workshopped the pending animal ordinance on Feb. 21, immediately following the regularly scheduled city council meeting.[...]

The council heeded several citizen recommendations during the latest workshop.

Breed-specific laws have been a source of deep controversy in each of the animal hearings. While the council has decided to write a strict vicious animal clause, it has decided against placing restrictions on specific breeds.

“The vet and the lawyers and everyone seems to say it shouldn’t be breed specific,” Allegri said. [...]

Full article retrieved 2/22/12 from http://www.marshallnews.com/story/1818623.html

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Fond du Lac, WI update: Breed ban proposal dropped

Posted on January 26, 2012 by | 2 Comments

The public stood up and said “no” to BSL tonight in Fond du Lac. City councilman Rob Vande Zande dropped his proposed breed ban after overwhelming public opposition to the idea.

Most city council members were also opposed to BSL. Please take a moment to thank the city council for standing up against discrimination.
Contact info for city officials (cut and paste):
rgudex@ci.fond-du-lac.wi.us; jruedinger@ci.fond-du-lac.wi.us; mburroughs@ci.fond-du-lac.wi.us; gmiller@ci.fond-du-lac.wi.us; rlunde@ci.fond-du-lac.wi.us; jsabel@ci.fond-du-lac.wi.us; rvandezande@ci.fond-du-lac.wi.us; lagnew@fdl.wi.gov

If you were one of the many who attending the meeting, wrote the councilmembers, collected petition signatures, and spread the word–then, here’s to you! Congratulations, and thank you, for a job well done.

Great coverage and photos of the meeting from FDL Reporter: http://www.fdlreporter.com/article/20120126/FON0101/201260446/Fond-du-Lac-residents-attack-pit-bull-proposal

Additional coverage from FOX: http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/local/fox_cities/pit-bull-ban-proposal-in-fond-du-lac

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Posted in BSL Defeated, BSL Proposed, Wisconsin

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Lake Saint Louis, MO update: Proposed animal ordinance no longer enables breed discrimination

Posted on January 17, 2012 by | Leave a comment

The Lake Saint Louis city clerk sent me a copy of the new Bill 3213, which will replace the city’s current animal ordinance.

We had concerns about the wording of the proposal due to a news report several months ago. The proposed wording would have allowed officials to consider a dog’s breed when determining whether to declare it dangerous.

The proposal has since been revised, and no longer contains this wording. Read the new proposal for Lake Saint Louis: Bill 3213

Thanks to all of the people who contacted Lake Saint Louis officials and asked them to change the wording so that personal feelings and assumptions about a dog’s breed would not be part of the process when declaring a dog “dangerous.”

All alerts for Lake Saint Louis, MO: http://stopbsl.com/?s=lake+saint+louis

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New Mexico update: Governor will not “call” BSL proposal

Posted on January 16, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Several sources, including a news report, have now confirmed that New Mexico Senator Sue Beffort’s proposal to restrict ownership of “pit bulls” will not be going anywhere this year.

Because 2012 is a short legislative session, Governor Martinez has to “call” any bill that is not related to budget. The governor’s office says that Gov. Martinez does not intend to call Beffort’s proposal, citing concerns about portions of the bill.

Beffort acknowledges how divisive her proposal was, but it’s unclear whether she’s actually changed her mind about how “dangerous” and “unpredictable” she thinks pit bull mixes are. Bill filing for the 2013 legislative session begins in December, and we will watch at that time to see if Beffort tries to file a simlar proposal during the longer session.

Beffort’s efforts to pass statewide BSL are not unique. In 2009, NM Representative John Heaton introduced a bill that defined “pit bulls” and Rottweilers as “dangerous dogs.” That bill did not pass, and Heaton lost re-election in 2010. When an elected official continuously proposes or supports BSL and is unwilling to change their stance, sometimes your vote is the best way to get that official out of a position of power.

Several New Mexico advocacy groups are now looking into the possibility of “banning BSL in New Mexico.” We believe that entails passage of a bill that amends state dog law to prohibit municipalities from passing breed-specific ordinances. Several other states already have such a prohibition. We support this effort and will try to share more information about it as the groups organize and get their bearings. Here’s one gathering place: http://www.facebook.com/BanBSLinNewMexico

All alerts for New Mexico: http://stopbsl.com/?s=new+mexico

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Ionia, MI: Breed ban rejected

Posted on January 4, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Ionia, MI, city council voted against a proposed breed ban by 5-3. It’s not a totally done deal, as some council members suggested they may look at BSL again in the future.

We hope that residents will take note of who voted for and against the breed ban, and take that into consideration during the next election.
For breed ban: Tom Millard, Mayor Dan Balice, Deputy Mayor Kim Patrick
Against breed ban: Gordon Kelley, Jeff Winters, John Milewski, Brenda Cowling-Cronk, Matt Johnson

Pit bull ban fails in Ionia: council members vote 5-3 against proposed animal ordinance

By Jon Szerlag, The Ionia Sentinel-Standard
Posted Jan 03, 2012 @ 11:56 PM

IONIA, Mich. — An animal ordinance to phase out pit bulls within the city limits of Ionia failed with a 5-3 vote at the Ionia city council’s Tuesday meeting. [...]

With the ordinance failing upon the second reading, Ionia City Manager Jason Eppler explained that the ordinance will be revised to remove all items regarding the phasing out of pit bulls and be brought back at the February meeting. [...]

At the end of the meeting, council members stated that they will look at ways to ensure the public’s safety, have that be looking at a later date of dangerous breeds, or increasing fines for individuals who do not follow current laws, like the leash law.

Full article retrieved 1/4/12 from http://www.sentinel-standard.com/topstories/x1569735402/Pit-bull-ban-fails-in-Ionia-council-members-vote-5-3-against-proposed-animal-ordinance

All alerts for Ionia: http://stopbsl.com/?s=ionia

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Bristol, CT update: BSL no longer on table

Posted on December 22, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Bristol, CT council appears to have given up on a proposal to restrict certain breeds of dogs.

No Dog Ban in Bristol

The city’s ordinance committee formally rejected the idea.

By Debra Bogstie | Thursday, Dec 22, 2011 | Updated 7:51 AM ESTView

Pit bulls and other breeds that some consider dangerous will not be banned in Bristol.

The city’s ordinance committee formally rejected the idea during its meeting on Wednesday evening.[...]

City officials said they have no plans to bring the issue up again in the future.

Full article retrieved 12/22/11 from http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/politics/No-Dog-Ban-in-Bristol-136029748.html

Another good summary of the Bristol outcome, from a witness at the meeting.

Because of the way this issue unfolded, StopBSL will continue to keep an eye on the agendas for a while.

All alerts for Bristol, CT: http://stopbsl.com/?s=%22bristol%2C+ct%22

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Petaluma, CA: Breed-specific MSN proposal rejected

Posted on December 8, 2011 by | Leave a comment

One of the Petaluma Animal Services Advisory Committee members asked that the committee consider mandatory spay/neuter for “pit bulls.” Last night, the committee voted 6-1 against breed-specific MSN. The issue probably will not come up again in the foreseeable future.

Thank you to Gabe Kearney, Petaluma City Councilman and member of the Animal Services Board, for this update.

All alerts for Petaluma: http://stopbsl.com/?s=petaluma

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Cumberland County, NC: Breed-specific no-adopt policy proposal dropped

Posted on December 6, 2011 by | 1 Comment

We encourage residents and locals in Cumberland County to remain engaged and involved with the Animal Control Board in order to address the problems that prompted this proposal in the first place.

The board’s new suggestion that animal control do a better job of vetting people who want to adopt “bully breeds” is still breed-specific and potentially discriminatory. There’s no reason why more careful vetting of adopters shouldn’t be done for all dogs, regardless of their appearance, to ensure they are all being placed with responsible owners.

Sarge Wolf-Stringer also makes some excellent points about adoption processes that are breed-specific:

When we make dogs like pit bulls “special,” we make them different. Different becomes deviant. Adopters don’t want “deviant” dogs, they want family pets, so those dogs are less likely to get adopted. [...] If the issues facing Cumberland County are reckless owners who fail to control/contain/maintain their dogs, then why are they punishing responsible people who want to adopt a shelter dog (chances are, the reckless owners who allow their dogs to behave dangerously did NOT adopt those dogs from shelters in the first place)? [...] Here is some info to get started: http://www.animalfarmfoundation.org/pages/RESOURCES_FOR_HUMANE_COMMUNITIES

No Kill Nation has expressed similar concerns, noting that more restrictive adoption policies are likely to decrease adoptions without actually addressing the irresponsible dog owners that created this problem.

Bully breed proposal dropped; Cumberland board urges better vetting of dog owners

By Gregory Phillips
Staff writer

Faced with a 100-strong crowd who condemned the demonizing of certain dog breeds, the Cumberland County Animal Control Board backed away Monday night from a move to limit adoptions of some breeds from the county shelter.

Instead, the board directed Dr. John Lauby, the animal control director, to look into ways the county can more carefully vet the people who adopt animals from the shelter to ensure they’ll be responsible owners.

[...] After hearing from some 15 speakers, Chairman Cris Berry-Caban moved to amend the board’s recommendation from October to instead suggest that animal control start checking into the suitability of people seeking to adopt so-called “bully breeds” of dogs. [...]

Full article retrieved 12/6/11 from http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2011/12/06/1142020?sac=Local

All alerts for Cumberland County: http://stopbsl.com/?s=cumberland+county

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Terrebonne Parish, LA: Parish rejects BSL

Posted on December 2, 2011 by | 1 Comment

Terrebonne Parish began to consider BSL back in February. Discussion on the breed-specific proposal continued through at least April. But by September, the board had returned with a new breed-neutral proposed dog ordinance. The breed-neutral ordinance passed last night.

Terrebonne council adopts dog law

Published: Thursday, December 1, 2011 at 9:31 p.m.

Sweeping changes to Terrebonne Parish’s animal-control laws set tougher standards for vicious animals and their owners though it does not single out any specific breeds.

The changes, which have been debated and discussed for nearly a year, passed unanimously at Thursday night’s council meeting. [...]

Councilman Billy Hebert [...] said he was swayed during the last nine months of debate away from a vicious-animal law that singled out specific breeds.

“We needed one for all breeds,” he said. [...]

Full article retrieved 12/2/11 from http://www.dailycomet.com/article/20111201/HURBLOG/111209936/1320?Title=Terrebonne-council-adopts-dog-law

All alerts for Terrebonne Parish: http://stopbsl.com/?s=terrebonne+parish

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Taylorsville, UT: Council decides against BSL

Posted on November 20, 2011 by | Comments Off

Taylorsville city council and residents have been “discussing pit bulls” for a few weeks, leading some to worry that the city was considering BSL or a breed ban. The Deseret News has now clarified that the council is not interested in BSL.

No pit bull ban in Taylorsville

Published: Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011 4:52 p.m. MST

TAYLORSVILLE — There will be no ban on pit bulls in Taylorsville. City officials decided not to develop an ordinance to outlaw pit bull breeds. Instead, Taylorsville will try to strengthen its existing vicious animal ordinances.

Several weeks ago a resident spoke at a council meeting, asking city council members to ban pit bulls. After considering the issue, civic leaders stated they were not interested in breed-specific restrictions, but tightening their current vicious animal ordinance would be a suitable option. [...]

Full article retrieved 11/20/11 from http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705394659/No-pit-bull-ban-in-Taylorsville.html

Mayor and City Council contact info
rwall@taylorsvilleut.gov; bcatlin@taylorsvilleut.gov; mpratt@taylorsvilleut.gov; jrechtenbach@taylorsvilleut.gov; dbarbour@taylorsvilleut.gov; ljohnson@taylorsvilleut.gov

All alerts for Taylorsville: http://stopbsl.com/?s=taylorsville

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