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Riverside County Pass Pit Bull Sterilization Law

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — Riverside County supervisors have approved an ordinance that calls for pit bulls and their mixes to be spayed or neutered after a series of attacks that included the fatal mauling of a 91-year-old woman.

The Riverside Press-Enterprise reports (http://bit.ly/15U9naF) board supervisors voted 5-0 Tuesday following a hearing where pit bull breeders and owners defended the breed.

The ordinance applies to pit bulls and pit bull mixes older than four months old in the county's unincorporated areas. The dogs will be required to be licensed because of spaying or neutering. Those who don't comply with the ordinance face a misdemeanor or an administrative citation.

County animal control officials sought the measure because of an abundance of pit bulls in county shelters. The breed accounts for 20 percent of all shelter dogs.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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