SCARBOROUGH (AP) — The Scarborough Town Council has approved an ordinance that requires dogs to be leashed year-round on all town property just months after an unleashed dog killed a protected piping plover chick on a beach.
The decision made Wednesday means that a $12,000 fine proposed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be reduced to $500. The federal agency said Scarborough has ignored repeated warnings about allowing unleashed dogs on town beaches during nesting season.
The endangered bird was killed July 15 on Pine Point Beach. Under town law, the dog that killed the chick was allowed to be unleashed.
Dog owners who attended the meeting said the town was being bullied by the federal government.
The council also discussed establishing a dog park in town.
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