Sioux City
The City Council in Sioux City is expected to vote to repeal the nearly decade old ban on pit bulls at its meeting this afternoon.
Mayor Bob Scott says the vote will take place to comply with federal regulations under the Americans with Disability’s and Fair Housing Regulations for individuals that may possess service animals that are pit bulls or similar breeds of dogs.He says the interpretation of companion dogs and service dogs has changed dramatically since 2010 and he says it is almost impossible now to prove if a dog is a service dog or companion dog — and it is just easier to do away with the ordinance.
Scott says they will continue to enforce the ordinance that says if a dog of any breed that bites someone or is determined to be vicious — they will still be seized by animal control: “That’s not going to change that. Obviously if a dog has a history of biting — we are going to enforce that. The ordinance doesn’t describe what kind of dog it is — it’s any dog,” Scott says.
The pit bull ban was passed in April of 2009 and has been in effect since March of 2010.
(By Woody Gottburg, KSCJ, Sioux City/Photo from the Sioux City website)