A new national survey commissioned by Best Friends Animal Society revealed that 84% of those polled believe that local, state or federal governments should not infringe on a person's right to own whatever breed of dog they choose.
The survey, conducted by Luntz Global, is consistent with a growing trend by many state and local governments that have repealed breed discriminatory provisions and enacted behaviour-based, breed-neutral dangerous dog laws.
Breed Specific Legisltaion (BSL) has been a controversial topic for decades. Behaviour specialist, Barbara Walmer, recently submitted an InfoStream article outlining the 'grey' areas of BSL.
"Within each dog breed certain characteristics tend to be selected for. However, due to genetic variability some offspring display these characteristics while others do not," she said. "It is also important to consider that depending on what environment and stimuli dogs are exposed to, some dogs may display certain behaviours to a different degree than others."
Last week, a preemption bill passed by the Utah State House was also passed by the state Senate. The bill would prevent any local government from enacting breed discriminatory legislation and will now be placed before the governor.
In Canada last year, New Westminster B.C. reviewed their own breed specific provisions. At the time, most of the Lower Mainland was moving toward breed-neutral legislation. The City of Winnipeg introduced Canada's first ban on pit bulls in 1990 and Ontario introduced its province-wide Pit Bull Ban in 2005. In 2004, New Brunswick considered breed specific legislation but opted instead for legislation which deals with all dangerous dogs. In Calgary in 2013, the city received public pressure for BSL following three separate attacks by pit bulls.
According to statistics posted online in February 2013 by the American Temperament Test Society, 86.8% of American Pit Bull Terriers successfully pass their temperament evaluations - a higher passing rate than many other popular breeds such as Golden Retrievers, Cocker Spaniels, Collies, Boston Terriers and Dachshunds. Out of 32,438 dogs tested since the organization was founded in 1977, the average passing rate for all breeds is 83%.
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