The City of Richmond looks set to bring in a new bylaw to restrict how long a dog can be tied up and left alone.
A city council committee was due to vote Tuesday afternoon on amendments to the animal control bylaw, which could see the unattended tethering of dogs limited to one hour.
And, if the dog is to be tied up, the length of leash must not be less than three metres.
"A limitation on the length of time that an animal can be tethered will ensure that animals are not physically harmed from prolonged tethering to a fixed object," wrote the city's bylaws manager, Ed Warzel, in his report to the community safety committee.
City staff have been looking into drafting an updated animal control bylaw since the fall, after animal rights campaigners urged councillors to take action against the "cruel" act of tying and chaining up dogs and leaving them for hours on end.
The campaigners showed councillors graphic videos of dogs being subjected to cruelty.
They claimed that, as well as the cruelty to dogs, a tied-up dog is more likely to bite if approached by a person, especially a child.
Also contained in the proposed amended bylaw will be a limit on the length of a leash for a designated dangerous dog - 1.2 metres. The owner of such a dog should also be at least 19 years of age.
And staff are asking council to add into the amended bylaw a requirement for dog owners to stop and identify themselves to bylaw officers, should the officer believe an infraction has been committed. At present, they don't need to stop or identify themselves.
? Go to www.richmond-news.com to check what the committee decided.
