Legislation to prohibit localities from banning certain dog breeds is under review in the Kentucky Senate. The measure got the backing of the Senate Agriculture Committee last week. Lee Greenwood with Best Friends Animal Society says it’s a property rights issue.
“The science is pretty clear, as we said, there really is no connection between breed and a dog’s propensity for acting in one way or another.”
Northern Kentucky Mayor Eric Haas (HAHS) testified against the bill. His community has banned pit bull dogs since the 1980’s.
Local governments would be prohibited from banning certain dog breeds. The legislation won the backing of the Senate Agriculture Committee last week. Fort Thomas Mayor Eric Haas (HAHS) spoke against the bill. Haas says his town has banned pit bull dogs for years. The mayor says a tragic dog bite incident occurred during one of his city council meetings.
“We didn’t know about it until after the meeting because we were in a meeting discussing this and this dog had been the family for years and not provoked at all, the child died, during our deliberations. That’s hard to get over, all for the sake of saying, well ok we’re protecting property rights.”
Greenwood says any type of dog can be dangerous and communities should make laws focus on the behavior of every dog, but not one particular breed. He says research shows no connection between a dog’s breed and propensity to act a certain way. Senator Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer says a decision about bringing the matter before the full senate has not yet been made.
