Lang
10/29/21
The Muscatine City Council has declined to take immediate action on a proposal to remove the city’s 18-year-old ban on pit bulls.
More than two-dozen people addressed the council about the ban at a Thursday night public hearing, with only three speakers voicing support for keeping the ban.
The ordinance, which bans pit bull ownership within Muscatine city limits, went into effect on August 1st 2003. At that time, national headlines were filled with stories of pit bull attacks.
The repeal was originally supposed to be taken up last year, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Council upheld the ban in 2016 despite community members showing support to repeal it.
The Council discussed the issue at their October 14th meeting but decided after a split discussion to hear what community members had to say. They did agree that the city’s animal codes, which haven’t been examined or modified since 2003, are due to be reviewed.
The council declined to take action Thursday night, but plans to revisit the issue in December.