Reply #9: The Texas law was recently updated... but it's not good

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Here's the actual law:

http://www.thln.com/New%20Subchapter%20D,%20Chapter%20821%20-%20TX%20Health%20&%20Safety%20Code.pdf

And here's an explanation from one of the lawyers from the Texas Humane Legislation Network who helped get it passed:

Section 821.077 of the Texas Health and Safety Code (the new
“anti-tethering” law) is a poorly worded statute and it provides
very
little meaningful protection to animals. It is most certainly not the
version that THLN wanted. The only good thing that can be said about
this law is that it is a beginning and it can be amended in future
legislative sessions.

There is a lot of confusion about this new law. It does not
prohibit
people from tethering their dogs from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. or during
extreme weather conditions. It only prohibits them from using certain
types of restraints and collars during those times and weather
conditions. Specifically, it prohibits people from using choke/pinch
collars, short restraints, “unsafe” restraints, or injurious
restraints
from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. or during extreme weather conditions. In
other words, you are allowed to keep your dog chained to a tree all
night long or when it is 110 degrees outside or below freezing as long
as the restraint is not a prohibited type and not too short.

The three-hour exception in Section 821.078(3) says that even these
meager restrictions don’t apply for up to three hours while the owner
is
doing a “temporary task that requires the dog to be restrained”.
This
means that you may use an unsafe or short restraint even during extreme
weather conditions or between 10:00 and 6:00 in order to do some task
as
long as it doesn’t take longer than three hours. So, for example,
you
are allowed to chain your dog to a tree with a 2 foot chain and an
unsafe choke collar that causes injury to your dog when it is minus 10
degrees outside while you are repairing the dog’s fence…as long as
you
don’t take longer than three hours. (Absurd, I know).

Unfortunately the law does not put any limitations on how long you
may
chain up your dog. You may keep your dog tied to a tree 24/7 for his
entire life as long as the restraint does not “unreasonably limit”
his
movement” (which, again, means choke/pinch collars, unsafe or
injurious
collars, and restraints that are too short).

It goes without saying that this law will be extremely difficult to
enforce.