By O. Kay Henderson (Radio Iowa)
The Iowa House has voted to forbid cities and counties from having ordinances that ban certain breeds of dogs, like pit bulls. Representative Jacob Bossman, a Republican from Sioux City, said the bill will hopefully turn the focus to responsible dog ownership.
“It’s kind of a cop out for communities to say: ‘We’re just going to ban this breed or this breed,’ and it makes you feel good, but studies have shown it doesn’t get to the issue,” Bossman said.
The American Veterinary Medical Association says breed specific bans can give communities a false sense of security. The group says any dog can become aggressive and bite if they are unsupervised or not trained in how to interact with other dogs and humans.
“This bill will allow Iowans to responsibly own the dogs of their choice, live where they choose and will instead turn the focus on dogs that have problems rather than specific breeds,” he said.
Bossman is from Sioux City, where an ordinance banned pit bulls from city limits for 11 years. The ordinance was repealed in 2019. “There was a breed ban in Sioux City — don’t need to get into all the specifics — but I think it was generally accepted that it kind of failed,” Bossman said.
The bill passed the House on an 82-16 vote. One opponent said it dilutes the authority of local officials to respond to local concerns. Dozens of Iowa cities have ordinanes that either ban certain breeds of dogs or label specific breeds as dangerous or vicious.
