County still working
on tethering ban
1 BY TODD LUCK
? THB CHRONICLE
i Forsyth County is get
ting closer to a possible
ban on tethering unattend
ed dogs.
County commissioners
discussed the issue during
their Thursday, Sept. 15
briefing. The county has
been working on an ordi
nance for months at the
urging of local animal
activists. Commissioners
sent a draft proposal to the
Forsyth County Animal
Control Advisory Board
who made changes that
activists and county attor
neys said would make the
ban hard to enforce.
Janice Freeman, a
member of the advisory
board, told commissioners
that making the changes
was the only way to get it
past certain members of
the board.
"There was several of
us that didn't want to go
with that language,"
Freeman said about the
changes.
The additions to the
ordinance included saying
unattended tethering was
not allowed as the "prima
ry, permanent means of
confinement," which can
be hard to define or prove.
Another part added
tethering a dog "for isola
tion and recovery due to
injury" as an exception to
the ban. This contradicts an
earlier part of the ordi
nance that restricts tether
ing a sick, diseased or
injured dog. It would also
allow dog owners to get
around the ban by simply
claiming their dog is sick
or injured.
A section that would
prevent tethering of a
puppy had the definition of
puppy changed to six
months old or younger.
The original language said
a puppy as one year old or
younger, which is the com
mon definition of a puppy
when their youth is evi
dent. '
Assistant County
Attorney Lonnie Albright,
who prepared the draft
ordinance, said after the
meeting the changes make
the ordinance into a
"DA.'s nightmare."
"There's no way to
prosecute it and it's unen
forceable," he said.
Freeman, who also
chairs the Animal
Adoption & Rescue
Foundation board, said that
she believes not everyone
on the animal control advi
sory board has the best
interest of animals in mind.
A variety of interests, not
just animal welfare groups,
are represented on the
board including hunters
and others.
The tethering ban,
which is similar to the one
in Guilford County, would
apply only to unattended
animals. It would still
allow owners to walk their
dogs on a leash.
Exceptions to the ban
would include dogs being
used in shepherding live
stock, lawful hunting, cul
tivating agricultural prod
ucts, training or perform
ance events, or camping
where tethering is required.
Among the many sup
porters of the ban in atten
dance was Jennifer Tierney
with Forsyth Animal
Coalition, a group of citi
zens who advocate on ani
mal issues. She said dogs
are social animals, so
chaining them can cause
psychological damage.
"It's incredibly inhu
mane," she said.
She said tethering
makes dogs more aggres
sive and much more likely
to bite humans, making
them dangerous to the pub
lie. They're also more like
ly to get pregnant, which
can create more animals
that county animal control
has to deal with.
She said the current
tethering ordinance, which
was adopted in 2011, is
unenforceable. It only
addresses the negative
impacts of tethering, such
as if a dog is being choked
by its restraint, but does
not ban the practice. She
said the original draft of
the new ordinance was a
good one.
"It needs to be simple
and clean cut like
Guilford," she said.
The current ordinance
took two years to go into
effect after being passed.
Tiemey said the coalition
would like to see the ban
go into effect within six
months of approval.
During the meeting,
Commissioner Walter
Marshall had concerns
about those that tether
because they can't afford
to build fences for their
dogs. Tierney 'said after
ward that two groups,
Unchain Forsyth and
Unchain Winston, were
addressing that by building
fences for those who can't
afford to.
Commissioner Don
Martin had concerns about
if there would be enough
staff to enforce the ban and
if it should be held off until
November, when county
staff will present a report
on service delivery options
for animal control. Other
commissioners, like Ted
Kaplan and Everette
Witherspoon, wanted to
move forward on an ordi
nance. Ultimately, Chair
Dave Plyler decided to
have Kaplan lead the craft
ing of a final version of the
ordinance, which he said
the commissioners would
vote on soon.
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