![\"Bruce](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/042726-mineola-ny-bruce-blakeman-126506936.jpg\")
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman signed on Monday what is being touted as the nation\u2019s toughest crackdown on animal tethering laws. Dennis A. Clark for NY Post<\/p>\nNassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman signed a new law Monday that places strict limits on tying up dogs and bans outdoor tethering after 11 p.m. \u2014 and bad owners could face fines and even jail time.<\/p>\n
The law \u2014 which is believed to be among the strictest in the nation \u2014 makes it illegal to chain a dog outside for more than 60 minutes during any 12-hour stretch, and outlaws tethering altogether when temperatures fall below 32 degrees or climb past 90.<\/p>\n
The law also prohibits tethering any dog that is pregnant, sick, or under 6 months old \u2014 and bans keeping any animal tied up outside by itself overnight, from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. the next morning.<\/p>\n
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman signed on Monday what is being touted as the nation\u2019s toughest crackdown on animal tethering laws. Dennis A. Clark for NY Post<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people don\u2019t have common sense when it comes to their animals,\u201d Blakeman, the GOP-nominee<\/a> for this year\u2019s race for governor, told reporters in the county\u2019s legislative chambers before signing the bill into law.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just want to make sure that we are the most animal friendly county in all of America,\u201d Blakeman added. <\/p>\n Nassau joins its neighbors in Suffolk County<\/a> and New York City<\/a> by limiting how long owners can leave dogs tied up outdoors \u2014 but goes further than both \u2014 hitting owners who violate the new law with up to a year in jail, a $1,000 fine, and the forfeiture of the pet found tethered.<\/p>\n Suffolk tops out at a $250 fine and five days in jail for a first offense, while the city also issues $250 fines \u2014 but it usually offers written warnings if the animal wasn\u2019t injured by being tethered, according to each municipality\u2019s legislation.<\/p>\n Nassau\u2019s one-hour tethering cap is the tightest time limit of any jurisdiction in America, and the law itself appears to be the strictest and have the harshest penalties for violations in the country, according to animal law databases.<\/p>\n Nevada allows dogs to be chained outside for up to 14 hours, Oregon allows 10, and Massachusetts is still at five \u2014 meaning Nassau\u2019s new law sets a standard no state has yet matched.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a very comprehensive law,\u201d Blakeman touted, adding that it is the first of its kind in the country to combine a strict one-hour tethering cap, temperature-based outdoor bans, and criminal penalties stiff enough to put violators behind bars for a year all under a single enforceable local statute.<\/p>\n Animal rights activists agreed, and thanked Blakeman and the legislature \u2014 which unanimously passed the bill on March 9 \u2014 for setting a nationwide example.<\/p>\n![\"Bruce](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/042726-mineola-ny-bruce-blakeman-126506934.jpg\")
\u201cSome people don\u2019t have common sense when it comes to their animals,\u201d Blakeman said. Dennis A. Clark for NY Post<\/p>\n