JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville City Council could make it easier to keep a neighbor's barking dog quiet.
New rules passed by the council Tuesday night will allow cellphone video to be used as evidence in animal cruelty cases.
Recommended Videos
Citizens used to have to provide two sworn statements from different people about a problem regarding a barking dog. Now if someone snaps a picture of an animal cruelty case or can document that a dog is barking longer than 20 minutes, a citation can be issued to the owner.
That ticket could cost up to $500.
City Councilman Jim Love introduced the measure
“You have to have a time date stamp on the video or the picture to show that the dog was cruelly treated or the dog was barking. Twenty minutes is the limit, so if it's over 20 minutes and you have video that could be proof, along with the sworn statement,” Love said.
The new law, which must still be signed by the mayor, could go into effect in August.