Senate bill 677

Animal rights supporters won an early round Friday in their years-long effort to make it illegal to tie up a dog in a way that endangers its life or prevents it from getting food or water.

The revised version of Senate Bill 677 removed earlier provisions that also would have banned the sale of so-called “shock collars” — a proposal that was opposed by multiple dog trainers and dog owners.

But the current version of SB 677 would add new provisions to Hawaii’s current animal cruelty laws.

If passed into law, it would become a new misdemeanor to tie up a dog to a “trolley, pulley, cable, or running line designed to attach a dog to two stationary objects in a configuration that endangers the dog, including preventing the dog from obtaining necessary sustenance.”

And no dog under the age of 6 months would be allowed to be tethered or restrained unless the dog is supervised by its owner or an agent of the owner. Also, no dog could be restrained by a choke collar, pinch collar or prong collar unless engaged in an activity supervised by its owner or an agent of the owner.

Violations would result in up to a year in jail. Violations for 10 or more animals would be a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Stephanie Kendrick, public-policy advocate for the Hawaiian Humane Society, told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the Hawaiian Humane Society has been working for years to make it illegal to tie up dogs in an inhumane way.

“Tethering stirs strong passions in dog lovers who understand the human-animal bond,” Kendrick wrote in testimony to the committee. “Dogs are social beings who do best when fully integrated into their human families. Improper or prolonged tethering is not only bad for dogs, it increases the risk of serious dog bites and the victim of such attacks are often children.”

The Humane Society of the United States wrote to the committee, “Law enforcement often receives reports of chained dogs with necks rubbed raw and covered with sores, the result of cruelly heavy chains, poorly fitted collars and the dogs’ straining to escape confinement. It is shockingly common for officers to find dogs with embedded collars, a horrible situation where the collar grows into the skin, typically requiring surgery.”

Several Hawaii island residents wrote in support of SB 677, including James Ward, who said, “I’ve been waiting years to see action on this issue.”

Jennifer Jo of Puna wrote, “I see dogs tied up all day and all night looking helpless and wanting so much more for the life they have been given. Please stop this abuse and help give dogs a life free from being tied up.”

And Justine Haltom of Kaneohe wrote to the committee that she sees a neighbor’s dog “chained 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This poor animal suffers because of human neglect. As a result, the dog is miserable and in very poor health. Furthermore, its miserable state encourages it to bark and screech for hours at a time, which affects all of the neighborhood’s ability to enjoy peace and quiet at their home.”