Alissa Zhu | Springfield News-Leader

Residents have spoken — pit bulls will not be banned in Springfield.

On Tuesday, voters chose to overturn a controversial ban on pit bulls, which would have grandfathered in current pets but not allowed any new ones.

About 68 percent of people voted "no" on Springfield's Question 1, preliminary election results show.

Kathleen Larkin, a member of Citizens Against Breed Specific Legislation who helped organize efforts to defeat the ban, said she was not surprised by the outcome.

"Generally speaking, people love their dogs and they want to be able to keep their pets," she said. "The ban as not going to do anything to change bad dog owners, backyard breeders and animal abusers. But it certainly would (create) a lot of pain for responsible dog owners who believe their dogs are part of their family."

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The pit bull issue was important to many voters interviewed by News-Leader reporters on election day.

Larkin said volunteers with Citizens Against Breed Specific Legislation helped many people register to vote during their public outreach and awareness events.

"A lot of people who came to the polls came to vote on this very issue," she said.

From City Council to a vote of the people

In the summer of 2017, two toddlers and their mother were mauled by a neighbor's pit bulls.

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It was on the heels of this attack that City Council began discussing a possible future without pit bulls.

Council originally passed the ban in a 5-4 vote in October. Officials who voted for the ban cited public safety. Some who cast a vote against the proposal said the city should concentrate on providing more resources to animal control and enforcing a dog ordinance that applies to all breeds.

One of the major criticisms of the breed ban was that "pit bulls" are broadly defined.

Springfield's ordinance defines "pit bull dogs" as any dog "that is an American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, or any dog displaying the majority of physical traits of any one or more of the above breeds, or any dog exhibiting those distinguishing characteristics which substantially conform to the standards established by the American Kennel Club or United Kennel Club for any of the above breeds."

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Pit bull registration and dog vaccination event

The ban was scheduled to go into effect in January. However, within a month, more than 7,800 people signed a petition, circulated by a local group called Citizens Against BSL, in an effort to stop the ban.

Due to the successful petition effort, the implementation of the proposal was suspended until the voters could decide whether they wanted to ban pit bulls in Springfield.

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Despite the Tuesday defeat of the ban, Springfield's more than decade-old restrictions on pit bulls remain.

Pit bull owners are required, among other things, to spay or neuter their pets, have a microchip inserted under their dogs' skin and keep them leashed and muzzled in public.

One City Council committee has discussed the possibility of requiring all dog owners to register, vaccinate and microchip their pets, regardless of breed.

Many national organizations have come out against breed-specific legislation, including the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the American Veterinary Medical Association and the National Animal Care & Control Association.