‘Epic fail’: Charlotte won’t ban dog tethering, but it may regulate circus animals. 

The Charlotte City Council struck down a proposed ban on dog tethering Monday and will keep its current regulations.

But in a separate matter, the council decided to look into restricting circuses from using bull hooks and other training tools that could cause harm to wild and exotic animals.

Marie Harris, deputy director of the city’s Strategy and Budget Department, told council members that a tethering ban could lead to equity concerns, particularly among Charlotte residents who can’t afford to build fences on their property.

She emphasized that a time-related restriction — one that stipulates the maximum time limit for a dog to be tethered and periodically supervised by its owner — could prove “problematic” for Animal Care and Control.

“It’s really not enforceable,” Harris said at Monday night’s strategy session. “Legally, you can’t hardly enforce it.”

In a 9-2 vote, the Charlotte City Council decided to keep its current tethering provisions while better educating residents on animal welfare. Council members Matt Newton and Dimple Ajmera cast the dissenting votes.

According to city code, all tethers must be at least 10 feet in length and give the dog “a reasonable and unobstructed range of motion without the possibility of entanglement, strangulation or other injury.”

“I think we need something with some teeth here,” Newton told his colleagues ahead of the vote, emphasizing Charlotte’s steep uptick in cruelty-related tethering complaints since 2017.

For months, dozens of activists have attended City Council meetings, raising signs to decry what they see as animal abuse and cruelty. The silent protests continued regardless of the planned agenda items.

Council member Malcolm Graham cautioned Monday against making any changes to dog tethering. He said the council needs to solicit more feedback from neighborhoods that could be adversely impacted by a policy shift.

“I’m really concerned about the unintended consequences that the ordinance will bring to our community,” Graham said.

Following the vote, local activist Holly Newton told reporters the council’s decision is “horribly disappointing.”

“This is an epic fail — it’s an epic fail for animal welfare in Charlotte,” Newton said.

Regulating circus animals

In a separate 9-2 vote, council members directed city staff to draft an ordinance to potentially ban bull hooks, as well as other training instruments used to prod at animals in circus performances.

Council members Graham and James Mitchell cast the dissenting votes.

Newton said Charlotte’s ordinance should address “electric shock, rods and anything else that could be used in an inhumane action to harm or hurt an animal.”

The proposal will be discussed at a public forum on Feb. 24, Mayor Vi Lyles said.

The possible bull hook restrictions drew scrutiny from activists who have called for an outright ban of wild and exotic animals in circus performances. The outright ban was a different recommendation presented to the council Monday.

An analysis of Charlotte’s 20 national peer cities found that seven regulate circus animals, Harris said. Three of those cities — Atlanta, Austin and Minneapolis — prohibit bull hooks.

Kristen Moyer, an attorney and activist, said that even if Charlotte curbs the use of bull hooks and other harmful instruments, circus animals could still be mistreated. She said that animal trainers could instead use brooms or shovels, for example.

“We’re disappointed they’re not considering a full ban,” Moyer told reporters.

This story was originally published February 3, 2020 at 9:54 PM.