Actor JOAQUIN PHOENIX is spearheading a new campaign to ban the chaining of dogs in California.
The WALK THE LINE star has teamed up with animal rights group People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals (PETA) and penned letters to every top California politician, asking them to support a new bill, which would make attaching chains to dogs a state offence.
In his heartfelt letter, Phoenix points out, not only does chaining lead to lonely suffering for dogs, it also presents a very real danger to people, especially children who wander into the area where dogs are kept chained.
He writes, "Life at the end of a chain is miserable. Senate Bill 1578 would give animal control officers a much-needed tool to help protect our canine companions from long-term neglect and our communities from dog attacks, a problem that has engendered increasing public concern in recent years." In a recent report, America's Centers For Disease Control And Prevention has found that chained dogs are nearly three times more likely to attack people than dogs who are not kept chained.
A PETA spokeswoman says, "In 2002, chained dogs killed more children between the ages of one and nine than did falls from playground equipment or trees and fireworks accidents combined, and they killed as many kids as did gun accidents."