BROOKSVILLE — 20 years after a pit bull ban went into effect in Bracken County, members of the fiscal court have begun the process of a repeal.
According to Judge-Executive Tina Teegarden, the pit bull ban went into effect in 2003. She noted her desire to discuss repealing the ban, given that it can be hard to enforce at times.
County Attorney Beth Moore said, since she has been in office, it has been difficult to enforce the ban 100 percent of the time. She noted the challenge in being able to tell which dogs are pure bred pit bulls.
“You can’t find a veterinarian who will tell you that a dog is 100 percent pit bull. They always say that they’re mixed,” Moore said.
Without evidence that a dog is a full blood pit bull, the ordinance can not be effectively enforced, Moore said.
As discussion regarding the ordinance’s repeal, Magistrate David Kelsch reminisced on the year the ban was put into effect. He said he was one of the few people involved with the fiscal court that was against the ban being passed.
Kelsch went on to ask if the ordinance repeal needed to be announced and advertised before a first reading could take place. Moore said, since the repeal will not go into effect until after the second reading, advertising does not need to be published until it goes into effect.
Magistrate Sandy Ruf added her thoughts on the pit bull ban.
“It doesn’t matter what kind of dog it is, a dog is only as mean as a person makes it,” Ruf said. She added that vicious behaviors are not secluded to the pit bull breed of dogs.
Moore said the county’s vicious dog ordinance is easier to enforce than a specific breed ordinance. Teegarden noted there is currently a vicious dog ordinance that has been enforced in the past.
After discussion concluded, Magistrate Craig Miller motioned to approve the first reading of the repeal of the pit bull ban ordinance. Ruf seconded. The motion passed.
A second reading of the repeal will occur at a later fiscal court meeting. The repeal will go into effect only after the second reading has taken place, according to Moore.