The Kansas City, Kan., ban on pit bulls is one of the topics on tonight’s Unified Government Standing Committee meeting agenda.
A proposed change to the animal ordinance would remove the ban on pit bulls here. Currently, residents may not own a pit bull.
The Public Works and Safety Committee meeting is at 5 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 701 N. 7th St., Kansas City, Kan.
Besides removing the pit bull ban, also under discussion are increasing the number of animals at residences, and adopting a trap, neuter and release policy. After discussion at the committee level, the issue would go to the full UG Commission for a vote.
UG Commissioner Ann Murguia said today that comments on her Facebook page had been running in favor of lifting the pit bull ban. She anticipated a crowd at the 5 p.m. meeting today.
There is currently a movement to lift the ban on the pit bull breed, since some experts now think that it is the upbringing of the animal, not the breed, that causes an animal to be vicious. One resident who has worked with animals throughout his life said that most of the time, if a dog is brought up with a gentle training, that is what it will respond to, while if they are brought up rough and taught to be mean, that’s the way they will be.
Other cities also have considered changes to their animal ordinances. Bonner Springs lifted its pit bull ban in January 2014, while Roeland Park is considering a change.
An online petition currently has more than 400 signatures asking Kansas City, Kan., to remove its pit bull ban.
Kansas City, Kan., has several incidents in its history involving pit bulls and their owners.
– In March 2013, the FBI and law enforcement authorities cracked down on a dog fighting operation in Kansas City, Kan.
According to a U.S. attorney’s news release at the time, two Kansas City, Kan., men were charged in connection with buying, selling, delivering or transporting animals to participate in an animal fighting venture. The two owned up to 60 dogs, mostly pit bulls, that they trained and took to dog fights. They kept the dogs at a farm in Missouri and also at their residences in Kansas City, Kan., where they trained them. They took them to fights in Dallas and other places, according to the authorities.
According to the U.S. attorney’s news release at the time, one of the men had a treadmill at his residence in Kansas City, Kan., where he would place a harness on dogs and chain the harness to the treadmill for several hours at a time. The treadmill had a plywood box to keep the dog on the treadmill. He also put weights on the dogs to strengthen them and provided caged live chickens in front of the treadmill as bait, according to the authorities.
– A pit bull attack was reported by a resident on North 10th Street in September 2013. A resident suffered several injuries after being bitten by a pit bull while she was walking.
– In July 2006, Jimmie Mae McConnell, age 70, was working in her garden at her home in Kansas City, Kan., when she was attacked by dogs that were being cared for by her next door neighbor. McConnell was severely mauled, and she died of a heart attack as a result of the dog attack. The dogs were not purebred pit bulls, but were predominantly of the American Staffordshire Terrier and Bull Terrier breeds.