UPDATE 07/14/08: About 6 months after Madisonville passed their pit bull ordinance, the Mayor and City Council members folded to pressures from pit bull advocates. They scrapped their pit bull ban. Learn more here.
02/17/08: Madisonville Takes a Stand for Public Safety
Madisonville, TX - Who said cities with state-wide "prohibitive breed specific laws" could not pass breed specific laws? At DogsBite.org we count 5 such states (thus far) with cities within them that legally adopt breed specific laws. These states include: California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois and Oklahoma.
As of February 14th, 2008, Pit bulls are no longer welcomed, or legal, in Madisonville, Texas. The city council passed an ordinance Monday effectively banning pit bulls within the city limits. Those who already have the breed can keep them, but there are some rules to follow (failure to comply can result in a fine of $50 a day). The rules include:
"$100,000 of liability protection; the dog must be kept in a locked pen or muzzled and leashed when taken out of the pen; a "Beware of Dog" sign must be posted; a photo of the pit bull must be provided to the city; you can't sell or transfer a dog within the city limits; if your dog has puppies, you have 10 weeks to get them out of Madisonville."
With this knowledge in hand, DogsBite.org thinks it is High Noon in Lubbock, Texas. Ban pit bulls now. Let the legal chips fall into a dizzying array.
The city of Lubbock has an epidemic on their hands. The have the right to take measures they deem reasonable to ensure public safety. These rights include the expansion of "police authority" and "what's best for the village." All tested State Supreme Courts on this issue have agreed.
Related article:
Madisonville's Pit Bull Ordinance
Find Ordinance's in Your State
Wow…Read the comments with the story. This really has the Pit Nutters going to Code RED!
The state of Texas will now have to sue the Town of Madison to comply with the pre-emptive with “NO BSL” the dog lobby bought years ago.
After the bloody year of 2007, it will be interesting to see if the state forcing towns to accept dangerous dogs holds up in court.
All Texas needs is ONE BRAVE city attorney willing to take on such a battle.
Looks like there is one…
The city attorney for Madisonville, John Bankhead, declined an on-camera opportunity to discuss the ordinance, though he did note that it is two-fold. Article 1 of the document concerns pit bulls. Article 2 regulates dangerous dogs.
Bankhead said they are fully aware of the health and safety code, and that it’s time for change to it.
http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/15753547.html
Rock on John Bankhead! It is indeed time for change! Lubbock, Texas, are you hearing this!!!!
In 2007, 6 out of 7 dog bite related killings were carried out by Pit Bulls. In the absence of the Pit Bull community policing themselves and coming up with a solution, it had to come to this.
Prevent the Deed, Regulate the Breed!
on 08/09/2008 we lost our beloved jack russell to a pit bull attack from our new neighbors. they said that they had no dogs or animals. It frightens me to think that people lie about this( I wonder why). they(neighbors) are upset about this. What about my children, they lost a much loved pet and family member…
denton, tx
we lost are little jack (russell) today 3/25/09 to are neighbors pit bull and they also tried to hide it.makes me wonder what kind of people could take him to the woods and leave him and then take there dogs inside of there house and never say a word,until confronted.Is there a pit bull law in rural areas?
Pit bull owners hide dead dogs and cats all the time. They dump them in the forest and in trash cans (down the street from their own). They talk about this behavior openly on pit bull forums. It’s gross to be sure…
If you are in the State of Texas, no, there are no pit bull specific laws.
can you please give me a web sight for pit bull laws in oklahoma