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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

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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.