Ohio's Proposed HB79

Pits in the news and info on Breed Specific Legislation.

Postby pitbullmamaliz » March 24th, 2009, 11:29 am

Proposed Law Would Remove Pit Bulls from Ohio's Vicious Dog Law
Proposed legislation in the Ohio State House would remove pit bulls from the definition of a "vicious dog" in the state of Ohio.

House Bill 79, which was introduced by Rep. Barbara Sears, (R - Sylvania) last week, looks to amend section 955.11 of the Revised Code.

Under Ohio law, pit bulls are deemed dangerous and vicious based on their breed, not based on if the dog has killed, caused serious injury to any person or killed another dog.

"In the 1970's it was German Shepherd, in the 80's Dobermans, in the 90's it was Rottweilers, now it's Pit Bulls. Breed specific legislation does not accomplish the goal." said Sears, "We want to take the focus of the law away from the breed and have it on the behavior of the animal, then hold the owner of the animal accountable."

http://www.fox8.com/wjw-news-pit-bull-s ... 0775.story
Under the proposed legislation the following section of the Ohio Revised code would be removed:

"(iii) Belongs to a breed that is commonly known as a pit bull dog. The ownership, keeping, or harboring of such a breed of dog shall be prima-facie evidence of the ownership, keeping, or harboring of a vicious dog."

The proposed legislation has had one staunch opponent in Lucas County Dog Warden, Tom Skeldon, who e-mailed Rep. Sears a case report regarding Pit Bull mauling deaths in Detroit, Michigan over a 19-year period. The email contained an autopsy picture of a child who had been mauled to death by a pit bull.

Skeldon tells Fox 8 News the picture was necessary to show what the animal is capable of doing.

"The [Vicious Dog] law has been a valuable tool in protecting the public, it puts restrictions on Pit Bulls, requires the dog to be fenced or caged and requires owners to have liability insurance." said Skeldon, "That would all go away with this law. This proposal is totally reactive, there is no proactive element involved. The law is proactive, it prevents accidents."

Skeldon says his agency impounded 50 pit bulls in 1993, in 2007 that number was 1354.

If you have an opinion on this proposed change to Ohio's vicious dog law, let us know about it in the message board and poll below.
"Remember - every time your dog gets somewhere on a tight leash *a fairy dies and it's all your fault.* Think of the fairies." http://www.positivepetzine.com"

http://www.pitbullzen.com
http://inaradog.wordpress.com
User avatar
pitbullmamaliz
Working out in the buff causes chafing
 
Posts: 15438
Location: Cleveland, OH

Postby Jenn » March 24th, 2009, 11:51 am

Good luck Ohio!!
I used to think I was indecisive, but now I'm not so sure....
User avatar
Jenn
undecided
 
Posts: 11382
Location: TX


Return to Pit Bull news and BSL

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users

cron