REGULATING
DANGEROUS DOGS
TO BAN OR NOT TO BAN?
John D. Joye, Esq.
Senior Assistant City Attorney
City of Charlotte – City Attorney’s Office
International Municipal Lawyers Association
2008 Annual Conference
Headlines
• Pit Bulls maul, kill boy in father’s back
yard Charlotte Observer
• Father’s Pit Bulls maul Charlotte Boy to
death Los Angeles Times
• NC Boy killed by Father’s Pit Bulls
AP
• 4 Pitbulls kill Boy, 8
Sunday Mirror, London, England
• Boy, 8, killed by dad’s dogs
Sunday Mercury, Birmingham, England
Can cities regulate dogs?
YES
Dogs = Property
No Fundamental Right
• Sentell v. New Orleans
1897
• Nicchia v. New York
1920
• Altman v. High Point
2003
• New York City Friends
of Ferrets v. City of
New York
1995
How will you regulate?
To Ban?
Not to Ban?
Breed Specific
Legislation
Dog Specific
Legislation
“BSL”
“Non – BSL”
Breed Specific Ban
Does your
state allow it?
• Ohio does it.
• 11 states forbid it.
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California
Colorado
Florida
Maine
Minnesota
New Jersey
New York
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Texas
Virginia
HSUS Statement on Dangerous Dogs and
Breed-Specific Legislation
The Humane Society of the United States offers the following
position regarding breed-specific policies.
The HSUS opposes legislation aimed at eradicating or strictly
regulating dogs based solely on their breed for a number of
reasons. Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) is a common first
approach that many communities take. Thankfully, once
research is conducted most community leaders correctly
realize that BSL won't solve the problems they face with
dangerous dogs.
There are over 4.5 million dog bites each year. This is an
estimate as there is no central reporting agency for dog bites,
thus breed and other information is not captured. Out of the
millions of bites, about 10-20 are fatal each year. While
certainly tragic, it represents a very small number statistically
and should not be considered as a basis for sweeping
legislative action….
Full statement available at
www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_o
ur_pets/dangerous_dogs.html
BSL: Issues & Pitfalls
Equal Protection
– Over-breadth
– Under-inclusive
Takings
– Fair & just compensation
Due Process
– Substantive
– Procedural
• Vagueness
No
Fundamental
Right
Rational
Relation Test
EQUAL PROTECTION
“[I]f the classification has some reasonable
basis, it does not offend the Constitution
simply because the classification is not
made with mathematical nicety or because
the practice results in some inequality.”
Dandridge v. Williams, (1970)
“The legislature may select one phase of one
field and apply a remedy there, neglecting
others.”
Williamson v. Lee Optical of Oklahoma, Inc., (1955)
TAKINGS
“Even were it assumed that dogs are
property in the fullest sense of the word,
they would still be subject to the police
power of the state, and might be
destroyed or otherwise dealt with…”
Sentell v. New Orleans & C. R. Co., (1897)
• Limited Geographic Area
DUE PROCESS
VAGUENESS
PROCEDURAL
• Name
• Notice & Hearing
• Physical
Characteristics
• Meaningful – prior to
destruction
• Hybrids
• Neutral fact-finder
Hard Questions / Hard Issues
• Which breeds to ban
• Moving target
• How do you define
• Promote the breed
• Ban vs. restrain
• Enforcement
resources
• Partial Ban + restrain
• Appeals / process
• Humane Concerns
Fatalities v. Bites
ANNUAL DOG BITES
• 4.7 Million
• 800,000 victims seek
medical attention
– Half are children
• 386,000 require ER
treatment
• Kids 5-9 highest rate of
injury
D.B.R . FATALITY
• Apprx. 18 per year
• 2007 had apprx. 33
• Dog-Bite-Related Fatalities -United States, 1995-1996
• Breeds of dogs involved in
fatal human attacks in the
United States between 1979
and 1998
• www.cdc.gov
Dog Specific
“Totality of Circumstances”
Dangerous means any animal whose behavior,
temperament, size, or any combination thereof,
when considered under the totality of the
circumstances, including the nature of the
surrounding area, constitutes a reasonable risk
of injuring a human or animal or damaging
personal or real property.
Charlotte City Code §3-3
www.municode .com
Controls to Consider
Mechanisms
Toolbox
• Reporting
• Restraints
• Seizure
• Insurance
• Process
• Fertility
• Aggression training
• Destruction
• Multiple dogs
Animal Care & Control
Resources
• Staffing
• Volunteers
• Budget
• Adoption
• Dogs per
year
• Rendering
Resources
Q&A