Results
| Title |
Author |
Citation | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) Table of Related Cases | Rebecca F. Wisch | Animal Legal & Historical Center |
This table provides links to cases involving BSL (breed-specific legislation). |
| Brief Summary of Breed Specific Laws | Rebecca F. Wisch | Animal Legal & Historical Center |
This article provides a brief summary of breed-specific legislation and the legal challenges to such laws. |
| Overview of States that Prohibit BSL | Rebecca F. Wisch | Animal Legal & Historical Center | This document lists the states that prohibit the regulation of dogs by local governments based on breed, commonly known as breed-specific legislation. The laws are divided into two general categories: (1) states that prohibit breed-specific legislation (BSL) in all animal regulation (10 states); and (2) states that prohibit BSL in dangerous/vicious dog laws (16 states). In total, there are approximately 22 states with some sort of anti-BSL legislation (combining both (1) and (2) together, and not counting DE, IL, and VA twice because they have both such laws). The pertinent part of the legislation is included in this list as well as a link to the actual laws. A further distinction has to be made in the application of some of these laws in the dangerous dog category. Some laws state that municipalities may not regulate dangerous dogs based solely on breed while other laws simply say that breed cannot be used to prove a dangerous dog declaration. |
| Breed-Specific Legislation in the United States | Linda S. Weiss | Animal Legal & Historical Center |
The author discusses the current state of breed-specific legislation (BSL) in several states, examining the efficacy of each law and the application to commonly assumed "dangerous breeds" of dogs. Upon investigation, the author concludes BSL is not an effective means of regulating canine behavior in communities. |
| Overview of Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) Ordinances | Charlotte A. Walden | Animal Legal & Historical Center |
Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) is created when a municipality or a county believes a certain breed of dog poses a hazard to the public health, safety, and welfare. While this website does not contain every ordinance relating to BSL, it does contain many samples of how BSL can be constructed. For more information on your city's or county's ordinances, please contact the city or county of interest. |
| Does Every Dog Really Have Its Day?: A Closer Look at the Inequity of Iowa's Breed-Specific Legislation | Olivia Slater | 66 Drake L. Rev. 975 (2018) | Breed-specific laws are well intentioned, but the fear and urgency driving their enactment has led to questionable craftsmanship by lawmaking bodies. These quick-fix statutes and ordinances have resulted in a variety of unintended negative side effects that far outweigh the laws’ utilities, yet these discriminatory and ineffective laws remain in place in the municipal codes of numerous Iowa communities. This Note proposes a reform to Iowa’s existing breed-specific legislation which would eliminate the inequalities of the current laws and preserve the power of municipalities to remedy public safety concerns. |
| Overview of the Laws Regulating Rescue and Foster Care Programs for Companion Animals | Kristen Pariser | Animal Legal & Historical Center | This overview examines how states deal with foster care and other non-profit rescue organizations. It details how states define such organizations and what laws may affect their operations. The paper also discusses potential legal issues that arise with pet rescue and fostering. |
| Detailed Discussion of the Laws Regulating Rescue and Foster Care Programs for Companion Animals | Kristen Pariser | Animal Legal & Historical Center | This article will focus primarily on the rescue and foster care issues. Some of the types of laws that impact companion animal rescue and foster care organizations include legislative definitions, licensing, sterilization and vaccination, pet limit laws, zoning and nuisance laws, tethering laws, Breed Specific Legislation (or BSL), tort liability, and reimbursement for medical care in cruelty cases. While some examples will be given here, a rescue organization or foster care provider should check the specific state and city laws where they are located. |
| When Fido is Family: How Landlord-Imposed Pet Bans Restrict Access to Housing | Kate O'Reilly-Jones | 52 Colum. J.L. & Soc. Probs. 427 (Spring, 2019) | Renters today face widespread landlord-imposed pet restrictions. At the same time, Americans increasingly view their pets as family members, and many do not see giving up their animals as an option when looking for housing. Consequently, pet-owning renters often struggle to find suitable places to live and end up compromising on quality, location, and safety. As homeownership drops and renting becomes more prevalent across the United States, landlord-imposed pet restrictions increasingly constrain choices, effectively reducing access to housing for many Americans. These policies particularly impact low-income families and those with socially-maligned dog breeds. This Note analyzes how landlord-imposed pet restrictions burden renters with dogs, with a particular focus on renters in the Los Angeles area. Parts II and III explain how legal and cultural attitudes toward pets are evolving, and how public and private restrictions constrain pet ownership. Part IV discusses the impact of landlord-imposed pet restrictions on renters and compares the situation to non-rental contexts in which people have sacrificed their own well-being to protect their pets. Part V asserts that the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause and the penumbral right to privacy can be interpreted to protect pet-owning families from government-imposed pet restrictions. It argues that while these constitutional protections do not apply in the private rental context, they do suggest that landlords unreasonably infringe on renters' privacy interests and that legislators should act to constrain landlord control. |
| Pit Bull Bans and the Human Factors Affecting Canine Behavior | Jamey Medlin | 56 DePaul L. Rev. 1285 (2007) |
This Comment examines the reasons for breed-specific legislation and looks at some of the human factors behind the “breed” problem. It argues that instead of targeting specific breeds, municipalities should enforce existing animal control laws and punish the human behavior that leads to dog attacks. This Comment concludes that laws addressing human behavior, rather than breed bans, are a better long-term solution to further public safety and animal welfare. |