Horry County continues to move forward with harsher restrictions in tethering animals.
County Council has discussed the new regulations for months. Members pretty much agree something needs to be done; now it’s a matter of finalizing the ordinance.
In November, council passed an approval of the proposal that looks to prevent pet owners from abusing animals. Council members have to vote on something three times before it becomes county law.
But, the momentum was stalled a bit when Councilman Dennis DiSabato brought up issues he had with the language. That’s why it went back in front of the Public Safety Committee Tuesday.
DiSabato said the original proposal wasn’t tough enough and he wanted tighter restrictions, like a shorter time limit that animals could be tethered.
But other members counter that the ordinance has to be something that police can reasonably enforce.
Tuesday, public safety committee members talked about getting rid of part of the ordinance that limits how heavy chains and tethers can be, saying that police wouldn’t have the equipment on-site to measure that and that they can usually tell if a chain is too heavy.
“That stuff is very obvious to an officer once they respond out there, that that animal, that dog is in distress,” HCPD Chief Joseph Hill said.
The ordinance would make it illegal for animals to be tied up if the temperature is hotter than 90 degrees or colder than 45 degrees.
Other restrictions include the animal is tethered so as to prevent injury, strangulation or entanglement; the animal has access to water, food and shelter; the animal is not sick or injured.
After removing the wording regarding tether weight, the public safety committee voted to bring the ordinance back to full council with suggested approval.
