On Wednesday, June 26, 2024, at 2:00pm, the Delaware Senate Elections and Government Affairs Committee will be considering a bill, which has already passed the House of Representatives, seeking to regulate barking dogs in the state. See previous alert.
Delaware residents are encouraged to contact the committee and express your concerns with House Bill 124. Scroll down for more information.
Bill Summary:
House Bill 124 would prohibit dogs from barking continuously for more than 15 minutes, or more than 30 minutes total in a day. In its original version, the bill provided very few exceptions to the prohibition. Although AKC was successful in working with the sponsor to include a number of exemptions to protect all dogs and their responsible owners, concerns remain.
The bill continues to ignore the fact that dogs bark for many reasons not covered by the bill, which has the potential of making any dog owner in the state of Delaware subject to a complaint even if their dog is only barking outside for a limited time (for example, a dog barking outside for 10 minutes, 3 times a day would be in violation).
Given the bill the real potential of tying up state Office of Animal Control officer on trivial matters because someone is annoyed that their neighbor’s dog barks for 15 minutes instead of pursing real animal abuse, this issue is best left up to individual jurisdictions to decide what, if any, law relative to barking dogs is needed for their community, if any, and should be enforced locally.
We continue to express our belief that this bill seeks to make barking dogs, a nuisance issue, a state matter and does little to protect dogs.
What you can do:
Contact the members of the Senate Elections and Government Affairs Committee (click on members’ names for contact information) and ask that that they opposes the bill has written. Respectfully let them know that you appreciate the exemptions, and also agree no one should be subjected to extended periods of continuous barking; however, this legislation in its current form does not protect dogs nor their responsible owners, including those engaged in lawful activities nor individual situations.
Instead, in order to avoid involving the Office of Animal Welfare in neighbor disputes, ask them to amend the bill to require a complaint to come from more than one party in a high-density area and that distance be considered in a more rural setting.
Submit Public Committee to the Committee: Accepted in advance of the committee meeting and up to 24 hours after the meeting has adjourned via email to Christella.StJuste@delaware.gov. All written public comments will be considered part of the official record.
Provide Oral Testimony: Attend the hearing in-person, or via Zoom by registering here. The hearing will be held in the Senate Hearing Room, in Legislative Hall, at 2:00pm on Wednesday, June 26, 2024.
Information on the hearing can be found here.
AKC Government Relations continues to monitor legislation in Delaware impacting dog owners. For questions or more information, contact AKC GR at doglaw@akc.org.