Texas Gov. Abbott signs bill regulating leaving dogs tied up outside

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed a bill into law Monday that prohibits using certain restraints on dogs and makes doing so a crime in the State of Texas, according to the Texas Tribune. 

Abbott had previously vetoed a similar bill over the summer, saying that “Texas is no place for this kind of micro-managing and over-criminalization.” 

Abbott vetoing the bill caused a lot of backlash, as reported by KXAN, and the hashtag #AbbottHatesDogs trended on Twitter soon after his dismissal of the proposed bill.

This new bill is similar to the one that was proposed over the summer and vetoed by Abbott, as reported by the Tribune. However, this bill more clearly states the proper ways in which a dog who is tethered should be treated, writes the Tribune. 

The bill forbids dog owners from leaving dogs with no shelter from “inclement weather,” citing examples of “rain, hail, sleet, snow, high winds, extreme low or high temperatures,” explains the Texas Tribune.

It also prohibits the use of chains or heavy weight restraints and specifies that dog collars must be made of a “material specifically designed to be placed around the neck of a dog” and that restraints must be no shorter than five times the dog’s body’s length, states the Tribune.

Animal advocates have been rallying to pass this legislation for several sessions and have been frustrated by the lack of existing laws to protect dogs in Texas, states the Tribune, and The Texas Humane Legislation Network reported that in 2015 not a single prosecution was made under current restrictions about the treatment of dogs. 

The bill was approved widely by Texas’s House and Senate, but faced opposition in rural districts’ legislators who worried it would make it more difficult for ranchers to restrain guard dogs, reports the Tribune. 

Though, animal rights advocates in Texas told the Tribune that they were proud of their work, “If there was no outcry … it would still be something that we’d be planning on working on next legislative session,” Jamey Cantrell, president of the Texas Animal Control Association, told the paper.