HOUSE MEMORIAL 19

48th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2007

INTRODUCED BY

Miguel P. Garcia

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY TO STUDY THE PUBLIC SAFETY AND HUMANE IMPLICATIONS OF PERSISTENTLY TETHERING DOMESTIC DOGS.

     WHEREAS, tethering a dog is the practice of fastening or chaining a dog to a stationary object or ground stake as a means of keeping the dog under control; and

     WHEREAS, it is in the public interest for dogs not to be vicious; and

     WHEREAS, the American veterinary medical association task force on canine aggression and human-canine interactions concludes that tethering dogs contributes to aggressive behavior; and

     WHEREAS, the United States department of agriculture issued a statement on July 2, 1996 against tethering, stating in the Federal Register, "Our experience in enforcing the Animal Welfare Act has led us to conclude that continuous confinement of dogs by a tether is inhumane. A tether significantly restricts a dog's movement. A tether can also become tangled around or hooked on the dog's shelter structure or other objects, further restricting the dog's movement and potentially causing injury"; and

     WHEREAS, tethered dogs account for twenty-five percent of human fatalities from dog bites; and

     WHEREAS, tethered dogs are often frustrated, frightened and easily agitated; and

     WHEREAS, tethered dogs are nearly three times as likely to attack than non-tethered dogs; and

     WHEREAS, children are the most common victims of dog attacks; and

     WHEREAS, tethered dogs kill more children annually than attacks on children from scorpions, hornets, wasps, bees, venomous snakes, lizards and spiders combined; and

     WHEREAS, a conservative estimate of the annual cost for medical treatment for dog bites is two hundred fifty million dollars ($250,000,000), even though less than one-fifth of the victims of dog bites seek medical treatment; and

     WHEREAS, more than one hundred municipalities and four states across the United States limit or prohibit the tethering of dogs;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the department of public safety be requested to conduct a study to investigate the public safety and humane implications of persistently tethering dogs; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study be completed by December 1, 2007; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to the department of public safety.

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