Animal Rights Group PETA Supports Madison’s Pit Bull Ordinance

The animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said there is no reason to oppose the proposed ordinance that would require the spaying or neutering of pit bulls in Pasadena.

The ordinance, which would mandate the spaying or neutering of all pit bull and pit bull mix dogs in Pasadena, has stirred controversy. Hundreds of opponents filled City Council chambers Monday night and decried both the proposal and its originator, Councilmember Steve Madison.

PETA Vice President Lisa Lange told Pasadena Now that spaying and neutering dogs helps lessen the abuse that many pit bulls suffer.

“Pit bulls are the most abused dogs in the den. They’re used in fights, they’re used as bait, they are chained, they’re left out and ignored, they’re used as status symbols which is never good for them, they’re trapped on dog chains and as a result, we have to recognize the abuse that they face every day and protect them because of it,” Lange said.

“Doing this for pit bulls, the dogs that need the most help from society, is a very good thing and it makes no sense that anyone who cares about dogs at any level would oppose this,” she added.

At Monday’s session the Pasadena City Council voted to table the proposal until summer, to await the reporting by the Pasadena Humane Society of further statistics about Pasadena’s dog population.

On Wednesday, three pit bulls attacked a bicyclist in Northwest Pasadena, at one point dragging him down North Fair Oaks Ave. Responding police opened shotgun fire at the trio, killing one dog and injuring the other two.

In light of the attack, Councilmember Madison renewed his calls for an immediate passage of his proposed ordinance.