photo by ArtChick
the staff o the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, New Jersey Democrats are pushing through legislation that could cost dog owners $500 a day if they don’t have a fence on their property.
Bill A2401 is being voted on by the State Assembly on Thursday and would require every municipality in the state to enact a fencing law that tells owners of large dogs to either erect a fence or face a $500-a-day fine. The new law could also bring down child endangerment charges to a dog owner who lets their dog off the leash in the presence of children.
“What we have here is extreme government overreach,” said Assemblywoman Jean Stanfield. “New Jersey Democrats are hurting so many animals and people with this law.”
“Dog owners who can’t afford a fence will have to give up their companions, animal shelters will have a harder time finding a home for large dogs and local law enforcement is going to be forced to enforce outrageous new penalties,” said Stanfield, who is the former Burlington County Sheriff.
The dog bill passed the Assembly Agriculture Committee with all Democrats voting yes and all Republicans voting no.
“Dog owners have spoken out against this bill. The great people who work at animal shelters have spoken out against this bill. So who is for it? It’s just another money grab by the state. People should be disgusted by this brazen attempt at stealing their hard-earned money,” said Assemblyman Ryan Peters.
“Dogs and their owners will be ripped apart by this. The Democratic lawmakers behind this bill really did a bang-up job,” he continued.
What about all the pit bull owners in paterson
This is a complete outrage and consistent with Dems running every minute detail of citizens lives. These poor people who can’t afford this, will lose their beloved pets and many will be euthenized! This state sucks more everyday, all that will be left of it will be ghetto towns. Normal people are leaving in droves. Government control needs to stop!!
That’s who you voted for
It’s common sense to leash and have your dog under control (even small dogs) in public–not private–areas. But this is at the state level and must be challenged.
can’t wait to move out of NJ – far away from blue state blues