Snip the Pit Ordinance in Manteca Being Considered

Pit Bull Law Adopted
UPDATE 09/03/08: Manteca city officials passed the mandatory pit bull sterilization law. Pit bull owners have another month to have their dogs spayed or neutered before they face fines and possible jail time under the new ordinance. The law, similar to the one passed in Ripon in 2006, requires pit bull breeds to be altered by the time they are eight weeks old.

08/19/08: 1st Reading Passes City Council
The Manteca City Council adopted the first reading of a municipal ordinance that would make spaying and neutering of pit bull breeds mandatory in the City of Manteca with one exception -- for breeding under strict conditions that require a city issued permit. If a second reading passes in two weeks, the law will go into effect in mid-October.

08/18/08: Can't Trust Owners to Act Responsibly
Manteca, CA - Following in the footsteps of San Francisco and Ripon, Manteca is debating a pit bull sterilization law. This ought to delight the organization called Chako that sued the City of San Francisco and lost after the city passed its pit bull ordinance. Chako held the opinion that the law was breed racist and that it violated the rights of people with disabilities. The judge disagreed.

California law still prohibits local ordinances from placing a ban on specific breeds. But it does allow breeds to be regulated, including requiring them to be sterilized. The result in Manteca's ordinance is an 8-page essay that that lays out how the city can demand the sterilization of pit bulls. City Attorney John Brinton has reviewed the measure and approved its language.

• Pit bull refers to any dog that is a Bull Terrier, Miniature Bull Terrier, American Pit Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, or any other dog displaying the physical traits of any one or more of the previously mentioned breeds...
• The only reasons a person may have a pit bull that isn't fixed include the pit bull being under eight weeks of age, if there is a high degree of suffering serious bodily harm or death due a physical abnormality based on a veterinarian certification who must also say...
• The first violation may result in the department impounding the pit bull and disposing of the pit bull in accordance with municipal ordinances or the owner may reclaim it by paying fees including the department's cost of having a veterinarian spay or neuter the dog...
• The second violation is a misdemeanor publishable by imprisonment in county jail for a period not to exceed six months or a fine not exceeding $1,000 or both. The second violation may result in impounding and destroying the pit bull.

Related articles:
06/23/08: CHAKO vs. The City and County of San Francisco
03/28/08: Pasadena Newspaper Supports Mandatory Pit Bull Sterilization
02/12/08: Pit Bull Attacks Prompt Concern in Manteca

Labels: pit bull ordinance, spay/neuter