LEAD, S.D. (AP) - City officials in western South Dakota are fixing an ordinance oversight that technically has made it illegal to own a dog within city limits for the past three years.
Lead Administrator Mike Stahl has proposed modifying the 2015 ordinance that rules it illegal to keep any wild and exotic animal within city limits, the Black Hills Pioneer reported . Domestic dogs are currently considered under the wild animal definition, along with coyotes, foxes and wolves.
“It was pointed out that in our ordinance we didn’t clarify that when we excluded a family of animals that, that included actually domestic dogs,” Stahlsaid.
The oversight occurred even though the ordinance excludes domestic cats from the definition.
The ordinance change would clarify an exclusion of domestic dogs from the wild and exotic animals list.
“We want to allow, of course, domestic dogs in the community,” Stahl said. “It was an oversight on our part to not do that.”
The wild animal ordinance was approved after a business, Fur-Ever Wild, opened in Deadwood three years ago. Lead and Deadwood residents pushed for the ordinance following allegations of animal mistreatment at the petting zoo business.
A second reading of the modified ordinance is scheduled for May 21.
___
Information from: Black Hills Pioneer, http://www.bhpioneer.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.