Animal advocates gear up for legislative pit bull fight

Animal advocates are gearing up for a full-court legislative press against the recent court ruling that declared pit bulls “inherently dangerous.” The nation’s largest animal protection organization, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) recently held meetings in Waldorf and Leonardtown (and six other locations) to provide information to citizens about how to go about overcoming the decision.

Since the Maryland Court of Appeals decision in Tracey v Solesky in April of 2012, the Maryland General Assembly has unsuccessfully attempted during three separate sessions to address the issue. In the 2013 session the House of Delegates at the 11^th hour killed a compromise bill hammered out by a conference committee.

The Leonardtown meeting was held Tuesday at the Dorsey Law Firm conference room and was sponsored by the St. Mary’s Animal Welfare League (SMAWL) Individuals and representatives of a number of animal welfare organizations from St. Mary’s and Calvert counties were in attendance.

The meeting was conducted by HSUS Maryland Senior State Director Tami Santelli, who explained the effects of the court decision, alternative approaches to corrective legislation and how those in attendance could more effectively deal with their legislators

Senator Roy Dyson (D: 29^th) and former Delegate Sue Kullen (D) were in attendance and spoke. Dyson blamed the House for voting down the compromise legislation. “I think we in the Senate did try to fix the bill but we ran into a roadblock in the House,” he said. He said he had reason to believe that both sides were currently meeting and he was in hopes that something will pass in the session that begins in January.

Kullen, who is running to regain the seat she lost in 2010, held up a cell phone picture of her mixed pit bull “Bean.” Kullen urged the attendees not to wait until the last minute to contact their legislators about the problem. She promised to fight for corrective legislation.

Santelli said that Maryland is the only state in the nation with a state-wide Breed Specific Law. The court ruling overcame a long-time Maryland common law practice of giving dog owners a free pass with their dog’s first bite. The court ruling says that because pit bulls are “inherently dangerous” their dogs are treated differently and they are held liable on the first bite. The ruling goes a step farther and gives landlords and other third parties responsibility as well.

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