New Texas law will make it illegal to chain dogs outdoors from 2022

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It will soon be illegal for Texas dog owners to chain their pets outdoors.

Monday, Governor Greg Abbot signed the invoice – passed in the third extraordinary session of the state legislature of the year – after vetoing a previous version this summer.

Under the new law, which will come into force on January 18, 2022, owners will be banned to tie their dogs outside with chains or heavy tethers. The length of an exterior restraint should be 10 feet long or five times the length of the dog from nose to tail.

Owners will not be permitted to leave a dog outside and unattended when tied up, unless the owner gives the dog access to “adequate” shelter, in the shade of direct sunlight. , potable water and adequate protection against “bad weather”.

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The new law also removes a rule that currently prevents law enforcement from intervening in a situation involving a dog under illegal conditions for 24 hours.

Violators of the law will be liable to a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $ 500. Repeat offenders could face a class B offense.

Abbott previously vetoed a similar version of the bill in June on the “micro-management” language of the bill regarding such things as “the tailoring of the dog collar, the time the dog spends in the bed of a truck and the dog tie length ratio. “

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Jamey Cantrell, President of the Texas Animal Control Association, Recount The Texas Tribune in an article published earlier this month, that public retreat likely led Abbott to sign the revised bill.

“If there wasn’t an uproar… this would still be something we plan to work on in the next legislative session,” Cantrell explained at the time. “But collectively, the Texans who have come and made their voices heard, they are the ones who are really responsible for the current situation.”

The story continues

Shelby Bobosky, Executive Director of the Texas Humanitarian Law Network, said to Tribune that the devastating winter storm of last winter showed the need for “some basic standards in place for dogs that permanently live outdoors”.

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State Senator and bill author Eddie Lucio Jr. of Brownsville recently told the newspaper that the changes to the previous bill were “minor” and that he hoped the newly signed law would “give many dogs a new way of life “in the state.

There are a few exceptions to this rule, such as public camping or recreation areas. Dogs and their owners participating in hunting, herding livestock and growing agricultural products are also exempt. Dogs can also be left unattended in an outdoor truck bed.

Some temporary restrictions will also be permitted on a circumstantial basis, although the law does not specify how.