Page 1 of 330 The Monthly National Legislation Report 7/5/2010 ...

The Monthly National Legislation Reporthttp://mnlreport.typepad.com/Page 295 of 3307/5/2010being wolf hybrids, coydogs, rottweilers, pit bulls, German shepherds, akitas and Doberman Pincers.Putnam County - Greencastle - Bainbridge - (12/3/08) - As the Humane Society of Putnam County looks toward reopening in the near future, the issue of animal control is on theminds of shelter representatives and local officials. Bohmer stressed the importance of spaying and neutering, one of the shelter's biggest expenses. "No animal is adopted out without beingspayed or neutered," she said. "By having a strong spay-neuter program in a community, animals coming into the shelter and animal control complaints will diminish." Rogers said strayanimals are also a public safety hazard. Bainbridge Town Clerk Jason Hartman said a spay-neuter ordinance was in the works for Bainbridge, as well as a spay-neuter-release program forferal cats. Bainbridge has also hired a part-time animal control officer, he said, and will be having an animal inoculation clinic in the near future. A follow-up meeting will be held after thefirst of the year, after the HSPC comes up with a solid budget and plan of action.IOWALogan - No decisions were made at the Logan City Council meeting Nov. 24 regarding changes to the present dog ordinance. At the last meeting, Ron Placek, a resident, had requested thecouncil revisit the ordinance. He asked all pit bulls be banned from town and no grandfather clause used. The council reviewed the ordinances Placek provided at the last meeting that arebeing used in various communities in the area.West Liberty - An emotional outcry from pit bull owners drives council to drop breed ban at the meeting of the West Liberty City Council Tuesday, Dec. 2KANSASArkansas City - (11/19/08) - Arkansas City may ban the dog breed Presa Canario at its meeting tonight at 7, at City Hall. The dog is large, aggressive and has been known to kill people,Mayor Mel Kuhn said. There are eight dog breeds on a list the city is considering, and each of them are some variant of the Pit Bull, which the city has already banned Commissioners saidthey do not want to get into the banning of a lot of breeds of dogs, so they will likely ban this one and make the current laws about vicious dogs stronger. The other breeds are: AmericanStaffordshire Terrier, American Pit Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Bull Terrier, Bull Mastiff, Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldog and the Presa Canario, known as the Canary Dog.Lawrence - (12/3/08) - The executive director of the Lawrence Humane Society, clarified that the Humane Society "has no opinion about keeping fowl" in city limits and is neither for noragainst it. But she raised some questions for the commission to consider: How many fowl will be allowed? How large must the property be? What kind of fowl will be allowed? (Peacocks,guineas and roosters are all very loud.) Will there be regulations for coops, cleanliness and parasite control? Will fines be imposed if fowl leave their owner's property? If a dog or cat killsfowl, will the dog or cat be considered "dangerous"? Will there be a regulation against butchering fowl for meat? The final decision was that city staff would develop regulations to be voted onat a future meeting. UPDATE: (12/8/08) - During Tuesday’s commission meeting, commissioners were asked to address concerns about the vagueness of Lawrence’s laws regarding livefowl and domesticated hedgehogs kept within city limits. Midge Grinstead, executive director of the Lawrence Humane Society, initiated the discussion with a list of concerns about the laws.Wichita - (11/15/08) - “The city of Wichita is asking area veterinarians if it should change its ordinance requiring dogs to be vaccinated yearly against rabies.” What You Can Do to Help:Give the Wichita City Council a call and ask them to adopt a 3 year protocol with a medical exemption clause for sick animals.LOUISIANANo report for LouisianaMAINEAugusta - (12/12/08) - The Maine Animal Welfare Advisory Council will meet December 17 before submitting a proposal to the Legislature for new laws that would take total control ofhobby dog breeding, scrap constitutional requirements for search and seizure warrants, and fund the entire state animal control program on the backs of law abiding dog owners. The Councilmeeting is open to the public. It is set for p.m. Dec. 17 at 1 p.m. at the AMHI Complex on the second floor of the Deering Building in Augusta. We urge all Maine dog owners toattend. The proposal for new laws must be presented in its final form to the Legislature’s Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry by January 15. While dog owners are includedon the task force, it is weighted heavily towards animal shelters, rescue groups, animal control officers, local government officials and extreme animal rights groups. The radical HumaneSociety of the United States, which is solely a political action group aiming toward the eventual elimination of animal ownership in America, and the even more radical People for the EthicalTreatment of Animals, are represented by members of the committee. Dog owners are represented by the Federation of Maine Dog Clubs, the American Kennel Club, the Down East Sled DogClub and a licensed kennel owner. They comprise less than a quarter of the committee members. People who own dogs of the hunting breeds are not directly represented.The legislative proposal stems from state Animal Welfare Division Director Norma Worley, who has begun an intensive enforcement campaign that has resulted in the seizure of more tan 500dogs this year. Worley’s aggressive tactics have resulted in overspending her department’s budget by $660,000, as of October. Here are some contacts to plug you into the informal coalitionof concerned dog owners:Contact Kathy Hartley at shock360@aol. com to work with independent dog owners. Contact the Federation of Maine Dog Clubs to offer you support by writing Secretary Nola Soper atsoperkenel@aol. com. Contact the Penobscot Hunting Retriever Club at wassookg@uninets. net. Or contact asda@csonline. net, and we’ll make sure that you become part of the network.MARYLANDWicomico - (11/19/08) - Wicomico County Council voted Tuesday to postpone a decision on a dog law that would add severe penalties for violent attacks and deviantbehavior. Council President John Cannon said at the meeting that too many terms in the dog law needs further clarification before it can be adopted. The dog law will die ifthe council fails to adopt it before Dec. 20, said County Attorney Ed Baker. UPDATE: (12/1/08) - The Wicomico County Council is expected Tuesday to tinker with twoproposals -- one dealing with dangerous dogs. On Nov. 18, the council voted to postpone a law that would beef up the county's dog laws. The law spells out standards ofanimal care, but also severely increases penalties for owners of dogs deemed dangerous by an Animal Appeals Board, at $1,000 for the first offense. Police officers could forthe first time, under the law, write citations for dogs whose barking habits are ruled a public nuisance. Councilman Bill McCain had called for a work session to go over concerns from a Nov.12 public hearing. Some residents said they are worried the law goes too far and that complaints against their pets can be exaggerated when one neighbor wants to punish another. The dogbill will die if not approved by Dec. 20, said County Attorney Ed Baker.Minpin withflagMASSACHUSETTSActon - (11/29/08) - There’s a chance some dog owners might be unhappy canine issues have resurfaced in town government. But local officials say they’re just trying to enforce existingregulations. Last year, the town instructed dog owners to keep their pooches leashed at NARA Park after considering stricter regulations at other public areas in town.Now, canine walkerscould someday see monetary penalties for bringing their dogs to cemeteries — leashed or unleashed — if the Cemetery Commission has its way. There are already signs informing the publicthat dogs aren’t allowed posted at the entrances to the town’s three cemeteries — Woodlawn Cemetery on Concord Road, Mount Hope Cemetery on Central Street and Forest Cemetery onCarlisle Road. But the cemetery commissioners say the signs are largely ineffective. Selectmen said they sympathized with the cemetery commissioners and urged them to come up with aproposed bylaw to bring to Town Meeting.Lowell - city council will be holding a hearing Tuesday (December 9, 2008) on an ordinance that would require any "pit bull or pit bull type dog" to be muzzled in public. Proof of residencywill be required upon entrance to the meeting.Reading - (11/28/08) - After receiving complaints about dog owners not cleaning up after their beloved canines on the town’s artificial turf fields, town officials have barked back. TheBoard of Selectmen voted 4-1 Nov. 25 to enforce a policy prohibiting dogs on any turf fields and within any fenced areas surrounding turf fields. Two turf fields are located at ReadingMemorial High School and the third is located at the W.S. Parker Middle School. While the fields also lie on school property, the School Committee plans to also adopt a similar policy,Hechenbleikner said.