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WHAT IS BREED SPECIFIC LEGISLATION? Breed Specific Legislation, or BSL, is any law that is breed-specific. It includes anything from requiring a special license, or special housing for a breed, to a complete prohibition of owning a breed (breed ban). BSL commonly targets Pit Bulls and other bully breeds, imposing strict fees, fines, and regulations on owners, or banning the breed altogether. The problem with BSL is that it targets dogs, not their owners. Any breed of dog can be dangerous in the wrong hands, and the irresponsible owners who cause the problems leading to the call for BSL are not likely to heed the BSL in their areas. If Pit Bulls are banned, they will simply continue to own and mistreat them, or they will dump them in shelters, and get a dog of another breed, continuing the cycle. Worse, many criminal-types are already drawn to owning a Pit Bull due to all the negative stereotypes that surround them, and making owning Pit Bulls illegal will simply make them a more attractive dog to own to those who get their kicks from breaking the law. Perhaps the worst thing about BSL is not only that it doesn't work, but also that it's expensive, using money that would be better spent educating the public on responsible pet ownership. BSL is extremely difficult to enforce, as definitions of the breed tend to be vague at best, and most enforcement agencies have a difficult time distinguishing a Pit Bull from many other dogs. Can you tell which dog is a Pit Bull? Try taking one of the following tests: http://www.pitbullsontheweb.com/petbull/findpit.html http://members.aol.com/radogz/find.html To learn more about BSL, please visit http://www.goodpooch.com/bsl.htm To donate to the legal challenge fund, please visit http://www.doglegislationcouncilcanada.org/
FACTS ONE SHOULD CONSIDER WHEN TALKING BREED BANS Which are the genetically vicious dogs? There are none. There is NO scientific proof anywhere that supports this claim. In the United States, the Supreme Court has ruled that there was no genetic evidence that one breed of dog was more dangerous than another simply because of its breed. "Variability
in behavior has a wider range within a breed than between breeds. Within
the discipline of Psychobiology and Animal Behavior, there is no date
from empirically supported studies, published in refereed scientific
literature, to support the idea that one breed of dog is "vicious".
The adult behavior of a domestic dog is determined overwhelmingly by
its experiential history, environmental management and training." Who does NOT support breed bans? The Canadian
Kennel Club "Singling
out one or two breeds for control can result in a false sense of accomplishment
and create a false sense of security. Of course, even dogs from small
breeds can also bite and are absolutely capable of causing severe injury."
If these organizations don't know what they're talking about, who does? What are the problems with breed bans? Breed identification - you cannot ban what you cannot define - a pit bull isn't a particular breed at all - but represents a type or shape, not a breed. Litigation costs - Any city can expect to be legally challenged by a number of provincial and national organizations if a breed ban is suggested. Add in to that, the number of dog owner cases while trying to enforce the legislation and the costs become astronomical. The onus on the owner to prove their dog isn't a pit bull is illegal and challenges the Charter. It is a reverse onus provision on breed identification, and is fundamentally wrong with the notion of "guilty before being proved innocent." Using the United Kingdom as an example, the courts are flooded with roughly 400 cases a year, at an approximate cost of 10,000 Ð 40,000 pounds per case. If you take the low estimate of 12,000 pounds per case, that's a Canadian cost of $26,800. Multiply that by 400 cases a year, and you're looking at costs in excess of $10 million for just the legal components. Enforcement issues - substantial cost increases for animal control staffing, litigation issues, and euthanasia medical costs all at the expense of the tax payer Affordability - breed bans increase city costs, while effective dog licensing, spay/neuter programs and tougher fines for vicious dogs is self-sustaining in cost management Public perception - the concept of mass euthanasia of dogs, based solely on the way they look, not act, on an ethical and moral level is grotesque. This is breed genocide, and while many animal lovers may or may not like pit bulls, the idea of killing innocent animals leaves a lot of people resting very uneasy What did Winnipeg admit, after its breed ban? On banning
pit bulls in Ontario: What happened prior and during Ontario cities breed bans? 1. Kitchener-Waterloo banned 'pit bulls' after 18 bites reported the previous year. During that same period, there were 85 bites attributed to German Shepherds. 2. In Perth County, Ontario, dog bite statistics compiled since January 2002 show just 1% of bites attributed to 'pit bulls'. One third of reported bites were caused by mixed breed dogs, and the top five biting breeds were, in order: Chow Chow, Jack Russell Terrier, Labrador Retriever, Dachshund, and Rottweiler. 3. Of the nearly 900 reports of bite incidents in Ottawa, Ontario for the last three years, only five were attributable to pit bulls. The largest number of bite incidents involved Black Labrador Retrievers and Golden Retrievers.
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