The Prince George’s County Council (Maryland) is scheduled to consider numerous changes to the county’s animal laws on Tuesday, November 19, at 1:30 pm.
Several weeks ago, a county committee approved multiple amendments, including repealing the county’s long-standing breed-specific laws and instituting new, comprehensive dangerous dog laws. This will be considered on Tuesday, along with a separate amendment that would also institute the new dangerous dog laws, but also keep the breed-specific policies.
In addition, the council will be considering numerous other changes to the animal control laws, including potential mandatory sterilization for any violation and a vague requirement that a dog’s “psychological and emotional well-being” must be considered when providing proper care to an animal. The AKC strongly believes that all dog owners should be responsible for their pets and that all dogs deserve a life in a safe, caring environment. However, we are concerned that some of the provisions contained in this proposal are vague, difficult to enforce, and, in the case of mandatory sterilization, not appropriate for every violation or circumstance.
County residents are encouraged to review AKC’s previous alert for more information on this proposal.
What You Can Do:
Attend the hearing and express your support for removing the county’s breed-specific laws and ask for clarifications on other portions of the proposal. The meeting details are as follows:
Prince George’s County Council Hearing
Council Hearing Room
14741 Governor Oden Bowie Dr.
Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Contact the members of the county council. Encourage them to support removing the county’s breed-specific laws and ask that other portions of the proposal be clarified.
Todd M. Turner, Chair
District4@co.pg.md.us
301-952-3094
Rodney C. Streeter, Vice-Chair
CouncilDistrict7@co.pg.md.us
301-952-3690
Thomas E. Dernoga
CouncilDistrict1@co.pg.md.us
301-952-3887
Deni Taveras
DLTaveras@co.pg.md.us
301-952-4436
Dannielle Glaros
dmglaros@co.pg.md.us
301-952-3060
Jolene Ivey
councildistrict5@co.pg.md.us
Derrick Leon Davis
CouncilDistrict6@co.pg.md.us
Monique Anderson-Walker
CouncilDistrict8@co.pg.md.us
301-952-3860
Sydney J. Harrison
CouncilDistrict9@co.pg.md.us
301-952-3820
AKC Government Relations continues to closely monitor this proposal. For more information, contact AKC GR at doglaw@akc.org.