Dog fighting to become felony in Texas on September 1

by PegNews wire

A bill passed unanimously by the Texas state legislature will make dog fighting a felony as of September 1.

Unfortunately, dogfighting is becoming more common across the state. But will the law have any effect? Catching fights is hard, and so is proving them, which the DMN's James Hohmann articulately explains in his story.

One of the big problems seems to lie with who will take responsibility. The Dallas police department view it as an animal control issue. But the animal control people don't carry guns and maintain that dogfighting is often a harbinger of other criminal activity such as drugs and gangs.

Here's a statistic: The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has taken in 385 pit bulls at its Dallas and McKinney shelters this year. One to two dogs with dogfighting wounds come into the shelter on Industrial Boulevard every three weeks.

Here's the other animal-friendly bills enacted by the Texas legislature, yay:

HB 1411 is an anti-tethering law that limits how long owners can leave a dog unattended and restrained outside. It's designed to prevent owners from keeping their dogs chained up outside between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. and from leaving them outside during storms. Dogfighters are known to chain up several pit bulls in their back yard all day, every day.

Senate Bill 1562 requires animal control officers be trained and certified.

HB 2328 creates separate statutes for cruelty against livestock and other animals. It used to be all the same thing, but this new law stiffens penalties for cruelty against nonlivestock animals, i.e. pets.

HB 1355 makes the owner of a vicious dog that attacks a human criminally negligent. Dog owners who knows their dog is dangerous can be charged with a second-degree felony if the dog mauls a human to death.

Posted by T.G.

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