FORT PIERRE - The Fort Pierre City Council has unanimously passed an ordinance that bans vicious dogs.

The measure defines a vicious dog as one that attacks or tries to attack a person on public property or on private property where that person had a right to be present.

The ordinance contains new, higher fees for impounding and licensing dogs and specifies the process for dealing with vicious dogs.

Mayor Sam Tidball says he believes the ordinance covers much of what the council wanted to do and that he's glad it's been handled.

In August, a pit bull bit a woman and a 7-year-old girl in Fort Pierre. Sheriff's deputies shot and killed the animal after it apparently broke loose from a chain and chased some children.

The ordinance does not contain a proposal defining certain large breeds of dogs with powerful bites as being intrinsically vicious animals. Several people have spoken out against breed-specific bans, and city officials raised questions about such a clause.

Levi Briggs, a city council, objected to higher costs for impounding and licensing. He said that would cost families too much for accidental offenses and that many people might not license their dogs to avoid higher fees.

"There could be an honest mistake - a small child might be walking his dog and it gets off the leash, or say you have a fenced-in back yard and your 6- or 7-year-old forgets to latch the gate," Briggs said. "That's an honest mistake, in my opinion."

The new ordinance has lower impounding and licensing costs than earlier versions of the legislation.

Overall, council members and city officials said they were satisfied with the measure.