PETA’s Anti-Chaining Billboards Go Up in Accomack County As Dog-Protection Bill Is Introduced

State Legislature Considers Restrictions on Leaving Dogs Tethered Outside During Certain Times and Weather Conditions

For Immediate Release:
January 8, 2020

Contact:
Nicole Meyer 202-483-7382

As winter is upon us and the desperately needed Senate Bill 272 heads to the General Assembly, PETA has placed a billboard highlighting the cruelty of keeping dogs chained and isolated outside and the importance of bringing them indoors and making them part of the family.

“There is no crueler punishment for a dog than to be trapped at the end of a chain 24/7, unable to exercise, explore new smells, or even reach basic necessities like food and water,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “PETA’s nearly 130,000 members and supporters in the commonwealth are eager to see SB 272 save lives by making it illegal to leave a dog chained up when owners aren’t home, overnight, and during extreme weather.”

Animals who are left outdoors in the cold can suffer from frostbite and exposure, become dehydrated when water sources ice over, and die. Last winter, there were at least 32 cold weather–related companion animal deaths—and these are just the ones that were reported. Most aren’t. Year-round, dogs become tangled in their chains and die when they are unable to reach food, water, or shelter—and all dogs left alone on chains or in pens are denied the companionship that’s essential to these highly social pack animals. Anyone who sees animals left outside without shelter from the elements should note their location and alert authorities immediately.

PETA’s billboard is located on U.S. 13, just south of State Route 620, facing south. The group has also placed a similar billboard in Caroline County.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—opposes speciesism, which is a supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.