The first big city to ban pass such a ban, LA City Council
passed a vote this week that bans tethering in the City of Los Angeles. LA
Animal Services has made this a top priority and worked on presenting this
to Council for more than two years. We have seen an accumulation of
complaints on dogs that have been tethered inhumanely, and a dog that is
tethered is three times more likely to bite than a dog that is not. "These
were unacceptable conditions and bad odds," states General Manager Guerdon
Stuckey. "So LA Animal Services set out to pass an ordinance that would
ban tethering, and we did."
Such complaints that the Department received for tethering
were entanglement, dog hanging itself, no access to food, water and
shelter and dogs that had the collars imbedded in their necks that were in
need of medical treatment, therefore the ban on tethering. The municipal
code that was passed today clearly defines that a dog must not be
tethered. It does have caging requirements if needed. The law also has a
provision, that you can tether your dog if you are completing a temporary
task, like repairing your fence, a party, the gardener, etc. but also is
very clear on how to tether your dog. For example, length must be three
times the length of the dog and it must be with a body harness free from
entanglement with access to food, water and shelter at all times. "This is
a great accomplishment for LA Animal Services," states Commander David
Diliberto.
A violation of this Section may be punishable as either an
infraction or a misdemeanor at the sole discretion of the Los Angeles City
Attorney's Office.
The maximum penalty for a conviction of this Section as an
infraction is a fine of $250.00. The maximum penalty for a conviction of
this Section as a misdemeanor is a fine of $1,000.00, imprisonment in the
County Jail for a period not more than six months, or by both a fine and
imprisonment.
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