WTF: Breed-Specific Legislation Going Strong
Part 4 of 4
Breed-specific legislature (BSL) is a deeply flawed attempt to reduce injuries and deaths from dangerous dogs – an important safety measure that needs to be addressed thoughtfully and tactically. If you haven’t been following along, check out our prior coverage, including where BSL is enacted in the United States (and how), what the basic beliefs and issues that underpin the BSL movement really are, and the serious shortcomings of this approach.
If you live in an area where BSL is being proposed or is already enacted, this final post, about what you can do, is for you.
Before BSL is proposed or enacted in your area.
- The first line of defense is to always be a responsible dog owner, particularly if you own a dog in the pit bull family. People’s fears of certain breeds can only be eliminated if you raise a well adjusted dog.
- Spay or neuter your dog. Not only does this eliminate unwanted litters, but it can curb aggressive behaviors.
- Make every effort to keep your dog well socialized, trained and an ambassador for their breed.
- Set yourself and your dog up for success by not putting them in situations that might provoke them in to any kind of reaction or engagement. (This is mostly common sense, but as an example — if your dog does not like other dogs, don’t exercise them in a busy dog park; instead, set up one-on-one play dates with established dog-friends).
If BSL is proposed, but not yet up for a vote in your community.
Try to engage legislation supporters in a conversation in order to suggest alternate ways to address their concerns. One way to do this is to discuss other legal measures that will help control potentially dangerous dogs but doesn’t outright ban or restrict entire breeds. These measures usually center around modifying owner behavior, such as instituting anti-chaining legislation or mandatory spay/neuter laws. These efforts support more humane treatment of dogs and reduce factors that are known to have a correlation with bites and attack incidents.
Fighting BSL already enacted in your community.
Don’t give up. You can petition lawmakers with sample letters, calls, and by encouraging your friends, colleagues, and others to state their strenuous objections. If this sounds far-fetched or hopeless, don’t despair. This what is currently happening in the UK, where a 1991 Dangerous Dogs act – nationally banning four breeds, long deemed costly and ineffective – is being challenged with new legislation to repeal the breed bans and make owners more accountable. The new law was proposed after lobbying from veterinary and animal welfare organizations banded together, and rising dog bite incidents – 79% nationally, and 43% in London – have made the situation all the more urgent. The new legislation will put greater emphasis on owner responsibility and eliminate any breed-specific regulations.
More resources:
- Be a responsible dog owner (from the AKC)
- Understand-A-Bull
- Pit Bull Rescue Central
Pawesome Explains Breed-Specific Legislation
- Part 1: What is BSL and where is it enacted.
- Part 2: Beliefs and issues behind BSL.
- Part 3: BSL shortcomings.
(Image via freewebs)
i am against anything using government violence even those little mandatory spay/neuter laws. for example what about shorty from the pit boss his dog can’t be neutered due to health issues what would you suggest the government do to him?
government violence is never the answer. if you don’t like the way someone is raising their dog you should publicly ostracize them not use government to send men with guns to throw them in a cage.
Hi Travis,
Well, perhaps this comes down to differing beliefs of what government violence is. Certainly it’s conceivable that there may be times where spaying or neutering could endanger an animal’s life, in which case of course there should be an alternative. However, given that there is massive pet overpopulation in the U.S., I am in favor of government-endorsed spay/neuter and mandatory spay/neuter for shelter pets. Organizations like Maddie’s Fund, who fund a lot of shelter and rescue group initiatives across the U.S., agree — in fact, I believe it’s a precondition for receiving funding from them.
Over 4 million animals are still killed in our municipal shelter system each year, most of them either feral cats, pit bulls, or chihuahuas. My feeling is that we’ve got to do something to stem the flow of animals, otherwise we’re going to have a hard time moving the needle further.
i am against anything using government violence even those little mandatory spay/neuter laws. for example what about shorty from the pit boss his dog can’t be neutered due to health issues what would you suggest the government do to him?
government violence is never the answer. if you don’t like the way someone is raising their dog you should publicly ostracize them not use government to send men with guns to throw them in a cage.
Hi Travis,
Well, perhaps this comes down to differing beliefs of what government violence is. Certainly it’s conceivable that there may be times where spaying or neutering could endanger an animal’s life, in which case of course there should be an alternative. However, given that there is massive pet overpopulation in the U.S., I am in favor of government-endorsed spay/neuter and mandatory spay/neuter for shelter pets. Organizations like Maddie’s Fund, who fund a lot of shelter and rescue group initiatives across the U.S., agree — in fact, I believe it’s a precondition for receiving funding from them.
Over 4 million animals are still killed in our municipal shelter system each year, most of them either feral cats, pit bulls, or chihuahuas. My feeling is that we’ve got to do something to stem the flow of animals, otherwise we’re going to have a hard time moving the needle further.
i am against anything using government violence even those little mandatory spay/neuter laws. for example what about shorty from the pit boss his dog can’t be neutered due to health issues what would you suggest the government do to him?
government violence is never the answer. if you don’t like the way someone is raising their dog you should publicly ostracize them not use government to send men with guns to throw them in a cage.
Hi Travis,
Well, perhaps this comes down to differing beliefs of what government violence is. Certainly it’s conceivable that there may be times where spaying or neutering could endanger an animal’s life, in which case of course there should be an alternative. However, given that there is massive pet overpopulation in the U.S., I am in favor of government-endorsed spay/neuter and mandatory spay/neuter for shelter pets. Organizations like Maddie’s Fund, who fund a lot of shelter and rescue group initiatives across the U.S., agree — in fact, I believe it’s a precondition for receiving funding from them.
Over 4 million animals are still killed in our municipal shelter system each year, most of them either feral cats, pit bulls, or chihuahuas. My feeling is that we’ve got to do something to stem the flow of animals, otherwise we’re going to have a hard time moving the needle further.