BSL is BS- Punish the Deed NOT the Breed!!
Breed Specific Legislation (BSL). Those are 3 of the most hated words among animal owners, primarily pit bull owners. And I’ve just learned that one of the towns in the county next to mine is trying to put a BSL ordinance into affect forcing owners to muzzle their pit bulls when they are out in public. An animal control officer for the county is requesting that the ordinance be put into affect after a 3 year old girl was attacked by the same pit bull that was involved in an attack on December 2nd. The officer feels that there have been too many bites, and pit bulls have been the main type of dogs involved in the attacks.
Now some may be wondering what exactly Breed Specific Legislation is. I feel the ASPCA says it best, and I quote-
“Breed-specific legislation (BSL) is the blanket term for laws that either regulate or ban certain breeds completely in the hopes of reducing dog attacks. Some city/municipal governments have enacted breed-specific laws. However, the problem of dangerous dogs will not be remedied by the “quick fix” of breed-specific laws—or, as they should truly be called, breed-discriminatory laws.
It is worth noting that in some areas, regulated breeds include not just American Pit Bull terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, English Bull Terriers and Rottweilers, but also a variety of other dogs, including American Bulldogs, Mastiffs, Dalmatians, Chow Chows, German Shepherds, Doberman Pinschers, or any mix of these breeds—and dogs who simply resemble these breeds.”
I don’t understand why it is necessary to punish an entire breed just because some people can’t (or won’t) keep their dogs under control. I know plenty of pit bull and pit bull type dogs who are the nicest, sweetest animals on earth- why should they be forced to wear a muzzle and get a bad rap? Why should they have to wear a muzzle just because they “might” bite? Well guess what, any dog can bite without warning! Does that mean that all dogs should wear muzzles out in public? No, of course not, so why should one breed be singled out?
For example- the attacks that sparked the talk of BSL near me was on a 3 year old girl who was playing in her yard. The pit was running loose, and went into the child’s yard and attacked her, completely unprovoked. The attack on December 2nd, a woman was beaten by 2 men, and the same pit bull that attacked the child plus an additional pit bull were ordered by the men to attack her (although according to the article, the dog that attacked the child did not attack the woman- it attacked the other pit bull).
See why I’m against BSL? Why should the breed be discriminated against when it’s obvious that irresponsible ownership is to blame? People like this should not only not be aloud to own pit bulls, but the shouldn’t be aloud to have dogs, period.
Although I am against BSL, I do feel that there needs to be much stricter rules to regulate who can adopt certain breeds, and those who wish to adopt breeds that are considered “dangerous” should have to go through a canine behavior/training course to prove that they are smart/strong willed enough to handle a dog that has a dominant personality. As much as I love dogs such as pit bulls, rottweilers, and dobermans and the like, I do believe that these particular breeds are not for everyone, and they should be trained how to properly handle them.
http://www.aspca.org/fight-animal-cruelty/dog-fighting/breed-specific-legislation.aspx
Trying to legislate according to breed is ridiculous. In my town, a few years ago a baby was killed by a Husky. I think that a dog of any breed should have an opportunity to be tested for “good citizenship” and therefore be afforded certain privileges that other dogs shouldn’t be allowed. Pit Bulls and other bully breeds, could surprise a lot of people if they were tested.
Veterinarians and animal behavioral specialists could develop an American standard that would score dogs on a range of ‘muzzle in public’ to ‘service animal’ then, towns, businesses and public transportation authorities could go by those scores when applying rules for public safety. …I also think that neighborhoods should be able to agree to a “no leash” ordinance. Groups of neighbors could agree, and maybe even fence in (w/ invisible fences) an area where they can roam and play together. Kinda like it was before leash laws. (I’m old enough to remember what that was like, and it was nice)
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AMEN! I do not believe in Breed Specific Legislation…I don’t think this type of discrimination would ever exist among people. And PEOPLE are exactly the reason dogs are “bad/dangerous” and also why certain breeds are outlawed. If people didn’t train dogs to be dangerous dogs, there would be no problems.
) I live in Miami-Dade, where Pit Bulls of any form are illegal, so my Scarlett is a Vizsla Mix and there isn’t an ounce of APBT in her, obviously..!!!
From personal experience, I know it’s completely possible to take an aggressive dog and make her a safe, wonderful family dog who poses no threat to my community (only robbers
I’m very much against breed discrimination as is the ASPCA. Even the CDC is against it because they say because dog teeth are similar/due to years of inbreeding and mixed breeding, there is no way to prove the breed from a dog bite. Many believe otherwise and the CDC disagrees with any “dog bite data”.
Meanwhile, there’s no proof that BSL reduces dog attacks, in fact, there are even studies that prove it does nothing to help.
States like NY and Indiana have enacted owner-specific laws that hold the owner responsible. They are against punishing a breed. In both these states, dog attacks have decreased as a result of owner-specific laws. Sounds much more effective to me!!!!
You can see my post on BSL by visiting http://loveofmydogs.com/tag/bsl/
Hope you enjoy as much as I liked yours!!
i just read and responded to your BSL post, and i love what you had to say! and i had no idea about the laws in texas and new york, it makes me happy that atleast 2 states have laws that make sense!
I think some of the people who get dogs such as pit bulls want them because they do have a reputation of being aggressive and they encourage them to be that way. Unfortunately this gives the whole breed a bad rap when the dog gets out of control.
thank you for your response bongo- and i do agree with you as well. i was so hyped up after reading the articles in my local paper that this aspect of why people get bully breeds wasn’t even in my head, but you are very correct- unfortunately many people do want them for their aggressive tendencies.
I have conflicting thoughts about this topic. While on the one hand I agree that some breeds should be more restrictive than others, I also believe that ANY dog has the potential to be aggressive without proper handling.
Rumpy is a very high-spirited dog and I had no clue what I was getting into when I brought him home. Granted, I only meant for him to stay until his owner claimed him, but that never happened and so he remained. But he is much more than a pretty face, and he has taught me more than I ever thought I’d want to know about caring for a dog. And I still know relatively little compared to others.
Perhaps when people stop treating animals like property to be bought, sold, and tossed off as they please, then we won’t have to have conversations like this one.
my main reason for being so against this is because i feel like these particular breeds are being discriminated against when in reality it’s we as owners who should be to blame because we don’t take the time to learn about the breeds that we choose to have as pets. too many time i’ve seen people come into the clinic with an absolutely adorable pit bull/rottweiler/shepherd/etc puppy, and when asked why they bought the breed it’s because of just that. it was an adorable impulse purchase. a lot of the times those dogs grow up to be dominant and aggressive (not all, but definitely a decent amount), and it’s because the owner didn’t know the personality of the breed they were purchasing and didn’t research the breed they purchased, so they didn’t know how to handle it. it really is sad that we’ve given so many breeds a bad rap when all it takes is a little bit of reading to learn about the personality traits and canine behaviors.
i’m on the fence in regards to people being pet owners vs pet guardians (basically, property vs family member). I see good and bad on both ends. i’m still researching that topic and i will being righting about it in the future.