Lawmakers offer dozens of critter-related bills
By DAVID SALEH RAUF AUSTIN BUREAU Feb. 25, 2009, 10:59PM

AUSTIN — Cockfighting crackdowns. Pet protective orders. Hog hunts from helicopters.

More than two-dozen animal-related bills have been filed this session. Among the lengthy list are tougher laws for participating — or watching — cockfighting, efforts to include pets in familial protective orders, and a bill allowing sportsmen to hunt feral hogs from a helicopter.

Not to mention pit bull proposals.

State Rep. Harold Dutton, a Houston Democrat, has filed legislation that would make it a crime for Texans younger than 16 to “handle or care” for a pit bull without adult supervision.

He also doesn’t want teens walking the block with the pit bulls and intimidating neighbors — something he says is akin to allowing them to carry a gun.

“It may well never go off. It may never hurt anybody,” he said, “but the potential there is so great that we need to look at it and prevent it.”

The Houston Democrat’s proposal also forbids leaving a child alone with any of the three bully breeds, which includes pit bulls, or “any mix breed” that exhibits pit bull characteristics. A violation would become a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine up to $500.

Pit bull defenders say the dog is no more dangerous than any other; animal groups charge the measure is unfair because it targets specifics breeds.

Currently, state law prohibits local government from passing breed-specific measures.

“Teenagers could use any kind of large dog to scare people, so where do you draw the line and start addressing the problem?” asked Laura Dapkus, spokeswoman for the Lone Star State American Pit Bull Terrier Club. “This is up to the parents.”

Closing loopholes
The flurry of animal-related bill filings this early in the session will allow lawmakers to continue their work from last session. Two years ago — when animal advocates hailed the Legislature for its efforts to protect Texas’ critters — lawmakers passed measures to increase penalties for vicious dog attacks, close loopholes that prevented prosecutions under the animal cruelty law, and increase punishment for staging dog fights or watching them.

Lawmakers also passed a statewide initiative to regulate the chaining of dogs. Though lauded as a step in the right direction, the anti-tether bill from 2007 was effectively unenforceable because it only outlawed the chaining of dogs from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., said Patt Nordyke, executive director of the Texas Federation of Animal Care Services.

This session, lawmakers are poised to tackle the issue again by possibly prohibiting all tethering of dogs, regardless of time of day, unless an owner is present during the time the dog is chained.

The bill also requires 150 square feet of space for each dog older than 6 months left unattended in a yard and prohibits canines from being left outside in extreme heat or cold.

Supporters say the measure will ensure that animal control agencies could enforce the law, which would reduce the number of dogs chained across the state. Opponents say the measure is excessive regulation.

Another bill would allow hunters to get weekend permits to hunt feral hogs from a helicopter.

Staff writer Peggy Fikac contributed to this report.



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