Several U.S. municipalities are reconsidering their approach to breed specific bans.
For 30 years, more than 700 cities across the country enforced pit bull restrictions and bans. Over the past two years, more than 100 of those communities have overtunred the legislation, including nine since June, 2014.
Advocates argue the bans have been ineffective in reducing dog bites and led to millions of dogs being euthanized. They say too often, animal control officials, law enforcement and the media misidentify offending dogs as pit bulls.
This year, South Dakota and Utah joined 17 other states in passing laws to prevent local governments passing "breed-specific legislation" (BSL), making it illegal for cities to pass bans targeting pit bulls or any other breed.
READ MORE: U.S. Communities increasingly ditching pit bull bans
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%.
READ MORE: Does the breed of a dog tell us anything about its behaviour?
Dear Tia Torres & all pit bull supporters,
ReplyDeleteOn January 17th 2014 my daughter Kara was attacked and brutally mauled to death on her 4th birthday by the very dog we purchased for her at x-mas the year before.
She thought that dog hung the moon, she had tea parties with him, he would sleep at the foot of the couch when she napped, laid his head on her lap for endless petting, she would sing songs to him, demanded he be bought special toys to play with, special pooper scooper so she could clean up after him, cushions for him to lay, she helped walk him with her daddy at night, cried when he wasn’t feeling well as her little heart felt so badly for him, her face lit up from ear to ear when she’d talk about him.
We watched your show (Pit Bulls & Parolees) faithfully, had it DVR’d as a matter of fact, we hung to your every word, admired you for fighting for the respect of the breed, and educating new owners and potential adopters, we clung to your words and followed them like a bible. You are the biggest reason why I allowed that dog into my home. I bought into your theory of poor misunderstood dog, gentle giant, loving family pet, great with children, loyal, snuggly. Our dogs were every one of those things—until the day something snapped in him and he wasn’t.
He attacked my daughter with no warning, no growl, no sneer, no previous anger, no signs whatsoever. You are wrong in what you say, you are wrong in what you preach, you are preaching untruths and many many more children will die because of you. These dogs are unpredictable at best, ticking time bombs that do not care that you have loved them as family and had done all the right things, exercised, fed well, the right fences, vetted, loved beyond measure.
I left for work on January 17th 2014 at 10:15, kissed my daughter goodbye, sang happy birthday Kara-Kara bo bara for the last time, I never saw her alive again. I visit her daily at her grave, her baby sister was also there during the attack, she remembers the sounds of the dog attacking, her sisters screams, she will replay that day for the rest of her life as will my whole family. My little one had just recently turned two the day she lost her big sister. She asks god every day to give her back to her. She doesn’t understand, and well Tia , neither do I , but what I do know is I hope you feel responsible in some small part, as you should. You are publicly endangering millions of peoples lives with your lies, your show should not be on TV. People look to you for direction and for guidance, and you spew lies and deceit. These animals have no business being brought home by families, they have no business around the defenseless, the elderly, children, they are killing people in masses and I for one won’t stop until they don’t exist.
Roxanne Hartrich