Breed Specific Legislation

Beware the Killer Pit! Beware the evil Rottie! That doberman will turn on you!  That German Shepherd wants to take you down!

Pitties are Licky- Olive and Rubin

We’ve all heard the scary stories of pit bulls attacking children, mauling innocent bystanders, killing other dogs.  Where these are true, it’s heartbreaking. It shouldn’t happen. Those people and their pets should be stopped.

That’s different than breed specific legislation. Breed specific legislation exists in every state, with counties and cities banning pit bulls and other “vicious” breeds.

We say, “Punish the Deed not the Breed”.  We say make dog attacks a felony.

My dog, Olive, is a pit bull. People cross the street when they see us coming.  Some people will ask what kind of dog she is, and then shrink a little when I tell them. Others say, “That’s a pit bull?”

We work on her having excellent behavior so that we never have any issues. And most of the time we do okay.

We don’t like Breed Specific Legislation.

Here are a few ways that Breed Specific Legislation doesn’t work (courtesy of the Ohio Valley Dog Owners):

Dog control problems are people problems, and are not limited to a breed or mix.

Banning a breed or declaring it inherently vicious  punishes those responsible dog owners who are the type of citizens that communities need to keep, not drive away.

Communities that have instituted such bans often find that the irresponsible owners and the criminals who use dogs for illegal purposes simply switch to another breed.

Banning a breed or particular mix of breeds punishes those dogs that are reliable community citizens, therapy dogs, assistance dogs for handicapped owners, search and rescue dogs, drug-sniffing dogs, police dogs, etc., and drives them out of the community.

Breeds and mixes are often difficult to identify.

The “pit bull” is a type of dog bred for fighting, not a specific breed.

Passage of laws that are only enforced on complaint cause two problems:  they create disrespect for the law if the authorities require compliance only upon complaint, and they provide ammunition for neighborhood feuds.18

For more information

For more information on Breed Specific Legislation, visit these links:

http://www.animallaw.info/articles/aruslweiss2001.htm

Stop BSL: http://stopbsl.com/

Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls: http://www.badrap.org/rescue/myths.cfm

American Temperament Test Society: http://www.atts.org/

If you have a vicious breed, make sure he or she is a model citizen! That will make life easier for all of us!