This issue (below) will be discussed and possibly voted on during the August 20 council meeting. It failed to pass during the August 6 council meeting.
Ashtabula, OH, has a breed ban on “pit bulls,” defined as American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, and Staffordshire Bull Terriers, and any mixed breed of such, and any dog that looks like a pit bull.
Rather than repeal their ban completely, Ashtabula will consider allowing residents to keep “pit bulls” in town IF and ONLY IF the dog was adopted from the Ashtabula County Animal Protective League (APL). Additionally, APL must attest that the “pit bull” is and has never been human or animal aggressive; and the “pit bull” must be neutered, microchipped, and registered with APL and with the county.
While we appreciate the efforts that APL has made to try to repeal the ban and improve “pit bull” adoption rates, the city’s “compromise” falls seriously short in many ways: enforcement will be a bureaucratic nightmare, residents won’t grasp the superficial distinction between a “legal pit bull” and a “banned pit bull,” and, when it’s all said and done, it’s STILL BSL, it’s STILL a breed ban, and people are STILL being discriminated against based solely on what their dog looks like.
The current draft of Ashtabula’s proposed dog ordinance can be read here (received from city clerk, 7-17-2012, and subject to change): Ashtabula Proposed Vicious Dog / Pit Bull Law
Please RESPECTFULLY contact Ashtabula city council, thank them for taking the first step, explain why their “compromise” falls short, and ask them to please fully repeal the city’s breed ban.
City Council, 4717 Main Avenue, Ashtabula, Ohio 44004
Phone: (440) 992-7119
Fax:(440) 998-4457
Council Clerk email: lavetteh@cityofashtabula.com
PLEASE ALWAYS BE RESPECTFUL WHEN YOU CORRESPOND WITH COUNCIL.
Pit bull decision to wait
August 7, 2012
By SHELLEY TERRY – Star BeaconASHTABULA — […] City Council failed by a 4-3 vote to repeal an ordinance which outlaws pit bulls. As a result, the measure must go at least one more meeting, taking it to Aug. 20.
[…] The new legislation, if it passes Aug. 20, will more broadly define a vicious dog as “any dog with a propensity, tendency or disposition to attack, to cause injury or to otherwise endanger the safety of human beings or other domestic animals.”
[…] Pit bulls would still be banned from the city, unless the pit bull is adopted from the APL and has been determined to be a non-aggressive canine.
Full article retrieved 8/19/12 from http://starbeacon.com/local/x1402348350/Pit-bull-decision-to-wait
Fred M. Kray
krisdiaz9
Stop BSL 