Lake Arthur officials approved a measure Wednesday that will lift the town’s decades-old ban on pit bulls.

Under the measure, pit bulls will be allowed within the town’s limits for the first time in nearly 20 years after town officials unanimously voted to overturn its previous ban on pit bulls.

An ordinance banning ownership of pit bills within the town was enacted in 2004 after a child was mauled in the face by a pit bull while attempting to retrieve a basketball from a yard and a dog was fatally attacked by a pit bill. The ordinance made it illegal to own a pit bull by simply identifying the breed by its genetic makeup, which many town officials say has become more difficult without DNA testing.

Mayor Poncho Lejeune said the council felt it was time to rescind the ordinance because it was too hard to prove what is a true pit bull.

“When the ordinance was introduced 20 years ago, it was easy to pick out pit bulls because they were pure bred dogs,” Lejeune said. “Now people cross breed them so much. By the ordinance you are not allowed to have them if they are 10 percent pit bull. How do you determine if a pit bull is 10 percent? You almost have to do a DNA test.”

The town cannot DNA test every bulldog, he said.

Lake Arthur already has ordinances in place defining and protecting against vicious dogs and requiring pet owners to adhere to a leash law.

“If it’s a vicious dog, it’s a vicious dog,” he said. “It doesn’t really make a difference if it is a German shepherd, a Chihuahua or whatever…if it bites someone it needs to be dealt with as a vicious dog. A German shepherd, I am guessing, can be just as mean as a pit bull.”

A hearing held prior to the board’s decision to reverse its ban on pit bulls drew no comments from the public or town officials.

After the meeting, Lejeune said no one has approached him or called City Hall to complain or ask why the town planned to lift the ban after it was introduced at last month’s meeting.

“I think most people wondered why it took so long,” he said.