Las Vegas City Council delays vote on animal cruelty ordinance

Wed, Apr 21, 2021 (2:47 p.m.)

The Las Vegas City Council today postponed voting on an ordinance that would ban people convicted on animal abuse from owning a pet for up to five years.

The vote was delayed until May 5.

Gina Greison, president of Nevada Voters for Animals, asked the council to ammend the ordinance to prohibit animals from being chained up outside for more than 10 hours and not at all during a heat advisory.

“Why do we even have it allowed to tether a dog in a backyard?" asked Councilwoman Michele Fiore.

A city staffer said unchained dogs can dig under a fence or jump over it, and some yards don’t have fences.

Nevada law allows owners to chain pets outside for up to 14 hours.

North Las Vegas approved an ordinance prohibiting chaining up a dog fore more than 10 hours.

Clark County has an ordinance that says dogs cannot be chained outside at all during a National Weather Service heat advisory.

The city’s proposed ordinance would require pet owners convicted of abuse to surrender their animals.

They would not be allowed to own another animal, live in a home with animals or work with animals for up to four years. If the abused animal died, the owner would not be allowed around animals for up to five years.

The city received a number of public comments on the ordinance via email.

"Having stronger laws to protect animals will help give us a safer and kinder community,” commented Lisa Rice of Las Vegas.

"It's good to see that people are very excited about protecting our pets, and it's good to hear people are supportive of this ordinance," said Councilman Stavros Anthony, who introduced the ordinance.

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