Miami-Dade will vote on pit bull ordinance

Commissioners voted 11-1 to put issue on ballot

MIAMI – Miami-Dade residents will get to vote on whether to repeal the county's pit bull ordinance.

County commissioners voted 11-1 on Tuesday to put the issue on the ballot.

Commissioner Barbara Jordan was the lone dissenting vote.

The question that voters will face on August 14 is: "Do you want to repeal Miami-Dade pit bull ordinance"?

There has been a long battle over the ordinance that some claim is "breed-specific legislation." Others call it "canine profiling."

Dahlia Canes started the Miami Coalition Against Breed Specific Legislation seven years ago. Canes told Local 10 recently that if Miami-Dade County's ban is lifted it could save taxpayers millions of dollars each year and set a precedent for smaller cities and counties nationwide to do the same.

Canes dismissed critics who argue pit bulls are more likely to bite someone than a Maltese, for instance.

Miami-Dade County Animal Services told Local 10 recently that pit bull enforcement is complaint-driven.