Post by RealPitBull on Feb 2, 2009 11:48:13 GMT -5
SoCal City Approves Vicious Dog Law
KTLA News
January 28, 2009
LANCASTER -- Owners of potentially vicious dogs, such as pit bulls and
Rottweilers, are now facing stiff fines in Lancaster under an anti-gang law
aimed at street gangs who use the animals to terrorize people.
The Lancaster City Council voted unanimously Tuesday in favor of the
ordinance. The law would also require the spaying and neutering of all
varieties of pit bulls and Rottweilers, including mutts that have
"predominant physical characteristics" of those breeds. The measure will go
into effect in 30 days.
Mayor R. Rex Parris says he wants gangs out of Lancaster and he says he is
confident that law enforcement officials can properly identify gang members.
Opponents of the ordinance argued that the new law could lead to racial
profiling by law enforcement officials, who they said might unfairly accuse
black or Latino males seen with a pit bull as a gang-bangers.
Other Los Angeles County communities have imposed laws to control canine
populations, but the Lancaster proposal goes further by identifying specific
dogs considered vicious or potentially animals.
A hearing officer would decide if the dog is vicious. Fines would range up
to $1,000.
Some critics suggested that Parris invite gang members to sit down and
discuss the issue. But the mayor dismissed this idea.
"I have no desire to work with them," he said. "I have no desire to help
them. The only thing I want to do is crush them and remove them from the
community... .The days of accommodating a gang member are over," Parris told
the Los Angeles Times.
Under the new law, dogs that are unprovoked and engage in aggressive
behavior, requiring a person to take defensive action, may be found to be
"potentially dangerous."
And dogs that are trained to be aggressive for fighting, inflict severe
injury or death or are already listed as potentially dangerous may be
determined to be "vicious."
Owners face numerous penalties, including a fine of up to $500 for each
offense committed by a potentially dangerous dog, and up to $1,000 per
offense for a vicious dog.
Other residents at Tuesday's council meeting expressed anger over the new
law singling out pit bulls and Rottweilers for mandatory spaying and
neutering. Some worry that the surgical procedure could prove harmful to
certain dogs.
Others insisted that if deprived of their pit bull and Rottweilers, gang
members would simply train another breed of dog to be vicious.
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I look forward to learning much here