Wisconsin Sen. David Hansen, Rep. Scott Suder, Rep. Sheryl Albers, Rep. Michael Sheridan, Rep. Scott Gunderson, Rep. Alvin Ott, and Rep. Terry Musser have authored a bill that would prevent serious felons from owning, possessing or even living with a vicious dog, a dog that has not been spayed/neutered or a dog that does not have a microchip.

The bill, SB 38 is pending in the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Corrections and Housing. Click here to contact committee members and urge them to vote yes on SB 38. Also, click here to find your Wisconsin legislators and write (faxes are best) or call and urge them to support this bill.

A copy of the bill is in Animal Law Coalition's Pending Bills. Just click on Pending Bills at the top of this page on the right.

Note that if the felon violates this law, he or she is subject to a fine of up to $10,000 and imprisonment up to 9 months.   If the felon violates this law and the dog causes serious injury or death to an person or animal, then the penalty can be up to 3 ½ years in prison and $10,000 in fines. If in such a situation of serious injury or death, if there is evidence the felon knowingly allowed the dog to run loose or failed to control him, the prison sentence can be as much as 6 years.     

This prohibition applies for 10 years following the adjudication or imprisonment and can be extended for any period of extended supervision.

A dog can be declared "vicious" if it attacked a person without justification and caused serious physical injury or death. A dog can also be deemed "vicious" if on 3 occasions it has (1) bitten someone without causing serious physical injury or death, (2) while off its owner's property caused without justification serious physical injury or death to a cat or dog, or (3) "while off of the property of its owner or custodian, behaved in a manner that a reasonable person would believe posed a significant, imminent threat of serious physical injury or death to a person, cat, or dog."

Illinois passed a similar law that went into effect in 2007. http://www.animallawcoalition.com/dog-fighting/article-40

It certainly cannot hurt to ban these felons from owning or keeping vicious or unspayed/unneutered dogs. Dogs that are not spayed/neutered tend to be more aggressive. In fact, 91% of fatal dog attacks involve dogs that have not been spayed/neutered. (There are no reported cases of a fatal attack by a spayed/neutered pit bull.)   Most dogs (80%) seen by veterinary behaviorists for dominance aggression were not spayed/neutered.  One survey found that most dogs (81%) involved in bites or attacks were not spayed/neutered.

Thus, the spay/neuter provisions may have some effect on the ability of gangs and other criminals to fight dogs or at least breed or train them for fighting.

The microchip requirement may help cut down on numbers of dogs stolen for use by fighters as bait.

The proposed law may also affect the ability of many to keep "mean" dogs as status symbols. It is no secret that having a "mean" dog has become a status symbol with some young men. The hip hop culture has certainly promoted the image of a "mean" dog as desirable.