WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., July 1 (UPI) -- Pets in Florida's Palm Beach County cannot be chained up or kept in small outdoor cages under a strong animal welfare law that took effect Friday.
The ordinance bans tethering animals at night as well as daylight hours but dogs still can be tied up when supervised or at shows.
Outdoor dog shelters are required to be at least 80 square feet and must never exceed 85 degrees inside. Fines will range from $100 up to $500 for a third offense.
Terry Workman of the Everglades Regional Dog Hunters Association, who keeps eight hunting dogs in cages behind his West Palm Beach home, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel the rules will force some hunters to give away or abandon their dogs.
"It starts costing people a lot of money if they have two or three dogs," he said, while accepting the tethering ban.
Capt. Dave Walesky of Palm Beach County Animal Care & Control, which drafted the law, said: "We were seeing people putting dogs in rabbit hutches. Before, we didn't have anything to stop them from doing that."
