REVIEWED JANUARY 2021
Model & noted breed safety laws ::
A list of model breed-specific ordinances, which have withstood legal challenges, and noted ordinances, which often contain a blend of pit bull sterilization and anti-tethering requirements.Model breed-specific ordinances
Jurisdiction | View Ordinance | Type of Ordinance |
---|---|---|
California | ||
San Francisco | Section: 43 | Mandatory spaying and neutering: pit bulls |
Colorado | ||
Aurora | No longer active | Bans all fighting breeds: pit bulls, American bulldogs, dogo argentinos, canary dogs, presa canarios, presa mallorquins, tosa inus, cane corsos and fila brasilairos |
Denver | No longer active | Bans: pit bulls (became the basis of the International Municipal Lawyers Association model pit bull ban) |
Florida | ||
Miami-Dade County | Section: 5-17.6b | Bans: pit bulls |
Iowa | ||
Des Moines | Section: 18-41 to 18-59 | Pit bulls declared "high risk" |
Kansas | ||
Overland Park | Section: 6.10.010, 6.10.020 | Bans: pit bulls and wolf-dog hybrids |
North Carolina | ||
Edenton | Section: 90.43 | Pit bulls, rottweilers and chow chows declared "potentially vicious" |
South Carolina | ||
Beaufort County | Section: 14-30 | Mandatory spaying and neutering: pit bulls, American bulldogs, American bullies and cane corsos |
Wisconsin | ||
Village of Fall River | Section: 7-1-9 | Bans: pit bulls |
Noted breed-specific ordinances
Jurisdiction | View Ordinance | Type of Ordinance |
---|---|---|
Arkansas | ||
Garland County | Section: 10-16 | Declares pit bulls, dogo argentinos, presa canarios and cane corsos "high risk breed" |
Little Rock | Section: 6-19 | Pit bulls declared "potentially dangerous," mandatory spaying and neutering, microchipping and anti-tethering requirements |
California | ||
Lancaster | Section: 6.08, 6.08.020 | Mandatory spaying and neutering: pit bulls and rottweilers |
Kansas | ||
El Dorado | Section: 6.20.040 | Mandatory spaying and neutering pit bulls; no more than two per household; felons prohibited from ownership |
Wichita | Section: 6.04, 6.08.010 | Mandatory spaying, neutering and microchip: pit bulls; bans wolf-dog hybrids |
Maryland | ||
Prince George's County | Section: 3-185.01 | Bans: pit bulls |
Michigan | ||
Alma | Section: 10-58 | Pit bulls declared "vicious" by rebuttable presumption |
Saginaw | Section: 94.025, 94.026 | Restricts top 5 most dangerous dog breeds - "Any dog of a breed that appears consistently in the top five (5) of the breeds on credible, analytical listings of 'Most Dangerous Dogs' as verified and supplemented by local data and records for Saginaw County." |
Ypsilanti Charter Township | Section: 14-1 | Mandatory spaying and neutering: pit bulls |
Nebraska | ||
Falls City | Section: 6-218 | Restricts: pit bulls, rottweilers, bullmastiffs, cane corsos, canis panthers (Donovan pinschers) and presa canarios, including mandatory spaying and neutering and passing a Canine Good Citizen test or its equivalent |
Omaha | Section: 6-157, 6-163, 6-165 | Restricts: pit bulls, dogo argentinos, presa canarios, cane corsos and American bulldogs, mandatory insurance |
Ohio | ||
Bexley | Section: 618.16 | Restricts: pit bulls, including mandatory insurance, spaying and neutering and the prohibition of electric fencing |
Washington | ||
Prosser | Section: 6.40.010 | Pit bulls declared "potentially dangerous," mandatory insurance and microchipping, exemption for passing Canine Good Citizen test or its equivalent |
Wisconsin | ||
Augusta | Section: 11.05 | Pit bulls, rottweilers and wolf-dog hybrids declared "high risk," mandatory leashing, muzzling, insurance and anti-tethering requirements |
Related court decisions:
- CHAKO vs. The City and County of San Francisco (U.S. District Court, 2007)
- American Canine Foundation v. City of Aurora (U.S. District Court, 2009)
- Sonya Dias v. The City and County of Denver (U.S. District Court, 2008)
- Colorado Dog Fanciers v. Denver (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1991)
- Denver's Pit Bull Ordinance - History and Judicial Rulings
- American Dog Owners Ass'n v. Dade County, Florida (U.S. District Court, 1989)
- State of Florida v. Peters (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1988)
- Kali Myers v. City of Sioux City (U.S. Court of Appeals, 2019)
- Roger Anderson v. City of Des Moines (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1991)
- Hearn v. City of Overland Park (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1989)
- Buchda v. Village of Fall River, Wisconsin (U.S. District Court, 2016)
- Dog Federation v. City of South Milwaukee (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 1993)
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