From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2002:

Friends of Animals board chair resigns over anti-chaining bill veto

HARTFORD--Connecticut state representative Kenneth Bernhard (R-Westport) has resigned his longtime position as Friends of Animals board chair, in protest against the role of FoA president Priscilla Feral in persuading Governor John G. Rowland, a fellow Republican, to veto what would have been the first state law to explicitly limit the number of hours per day that dogs could be chained, caged, or kenneled.
Drafted by Animal Advocacy Connecticut founder Julie Lewin, the anti-chaining bill was approved 124-17 in the state house and 30-6 in the state senate. Lawmakers backed the bill partly out of sympathy for dogs chained outdoors alone in all kinds of weather, and partly due to increasing recognition that prolonged chaining, caging, or kenneling tends to make dogs more territorial and reactive, resulting in more frequent bites and more serious bites than if the dogs have the option of moving away from a threat or challenge.

The bill sought to avoid enforcement problems resulting from humane officers making judgement calls by spelling out statutory limits: a dog could not be confined for longer than 15 consecutive hours, or more than 22 hours out of 24; a chain could not be less than five times the length of the dog; a chain could not weigh more than 10% as much as the dog; and dogs other than northern breeds could not be left outside for longer than half an hour in temperatures below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

This is the same approach taken to regulatory topics such as speed limits, stop signs, and wearing seat belts. Rather than leaving "dangerous driving" up to police to define, laws define prohibited conduct, and state specific penalties for each violation.

The bill was vehemently opposed as allegedly over-restrictive by the Connecticut Dog Federation, representing dog breeders; pack hunters; owners of guard dogs; libertarians, who oppose all new regulation; the Hartford Courant newspaper--and FoA, which attacked it in a series of e-mail alerts for including exemptions for pet stores, greyhound tracks, and animal shelters.

"I admire their aspirations for an animal utopia," Bernhard told Associated Press, "but it is not going to happen in our lifetime. Unfortunately, FoA has become a roadblock to improving the standard of care for animals."

Bernhard said that including the exemptions was necessary for the bill to pass.

The Connecticut legislature will have a chance to override Rowland's veto in a session starting on June 24, but is not expected to take the anti-chaining bill up again.