Local gov'ts confront dangerous pets

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2/25/2009 By Oren Dorell, Greg Latshaw and Donna Leinwand, USA TODAY

After Kano, a 70-pound pit bull, attacked a 4-year-old girl in Salisbury, Md., last year, animal control officers for the first time invoked a local law that allows the county to euthanize dogs after vicious attacks.
The Wicomico County's Animal Appeal Board upheld the decision in October, but the dog's owner has appealed the board's decision to the Wicomico County Circuit Court.

Cities and states are updating their animal control laws after a spate of violent and bizarre animal incidents, including Michael Vick's dogfighting ring in 2007 and last week's attack by Travis the chimpanzee in Connecticut.

Local governments are confronting dangerous pets in different ways.

Some seek outright bans of certain dog breeds or exotic animals, while others force pet owners to buy costly pet insurance or impose strict rules.

On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill making it illegal to transport primates, such as chimpanzees, across state lines for the purpose of making them pets. "Some animals are not domesticated. They're not suited for pets and certainly some animals, like this chimpanzee, are not appropriate for a neighborhood," says the bill's sponsor, Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore.

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, voted against the bill because he says it should have banned them as pets.

"The only way this would save someone from a freak monkey bite is if the monkey chases them across state lines," he says.

Exotic pets such as rhesus macaque monkeys, a lemur and a Burmese python have attacked people in the past year, reports Born Free USA, an animal conservation group that places captive wild animals in sanctuaries or releases them to the wild.

State legislatures introduce hundreds of animal-related bills each year, up from a few dozen a decade ago, says Stephan Otto, an attorney at the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

"More and more we're seeing state legislators paying attention to animal-related issues," Otto says. "Their constituency cares about these issues. A lot of people have animals."

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal says the attack by Travis the chimp prompted him to prepare legislation to outlaw "all potentially dangerous animals."

Police shot and killed the 200-pound chimp after the attack. Travis' remains were cremated Wednesday.

The state already bans tigers, lions, bears and wolves as pets, but other exotic animals are allowed with a permit.

Primates, Blumenthal says, "are by nature unpredictable. ... These primates should be either in a natural habitat or in a preserve, not in a suburban home."

Primate owners disagree.

Nancy Nighswander is federal legislation director for Uniting a Proactive Primate and Exotic Animal League, which promotes responsible ownership of exotic animals. She has a capuchin and snow monkey.

"They're such majestic animals," she says. "It's unbelievable the bond they have with their caretakers."

Some cities also ban exotic pets. Burton, Mich., did so last May after officials learned a local man had an alligator. Outlawed pets can include primates, alligators and big cats.

Sioux City, Iowa, in September banned new pit bulls and pit bull mixes.

Residents who already own pit bulls must register them with the city by March 22 and agree to abide by rules such as not allowing children to walk the dogs.

Ohio is the only state that declares a specific dog breed — pit bulls — to be vicious, says Lisa Peterson, a spokeswoman for the American Kennel Club.

Some states and local governments are targeting reckless owners or pushing tougher penalties for animal abuse.

Among them:

• Decatur County, Ga., as of Jan. 14, makes owners of dogs who have bitten someone post a "dangerous dog" sign at their homes, pay $150 to register the dog, buy a $75,000 insurance policy and muzzle the dog during walks, county planning director Paul Soudi says.

• Idaho and Wyoming last year became the final states to make dogfighting a felony.

• Utah and Virginia last year allowed dogfighting to be charged as racketeering, which can result in stiffer penalties.

• Georgia is one of several states considering bills that would extend protections from restraining orders in domestic violence cases to pets in the house.

Wicomico County, where the Kano attack occurred, enacted its dangerous dog law in October 2007, after another dog attack seriously injured a teenager, county attorney Ed Baker says. The county updated its law in December.

Before 2007, the county gave dogs that bit a second chance, he says. "Now you don't get the one free bite."

Latshaw reports for The Daily Times in Salisbury, Md.