Every year an estimated 4.5 million dog bites occur in the U.S. BSL (Breed Specific Legislation) is a law that suggests that certain breeds are more prone to aggression than others. By banning or restricting the breeds in question, it is believed to help reduce the number of attacks. BSL determines which breeds are dangerous using statistics. These statistics cannot be relied on for two reasons. One, there is no concrete method to determine a dog’s pedigree. Thus, a victim, animal control officer, or owner is trusted with identifying the dog through appearance. According to Scott and Fuller, authors of Genetics and the Social Behavior of the Dog, “It has been known for decades that the cross-bred offspring of purebred dogs of different breeds often bear little or no resemblance to either their sires or dams (1965).” Visual assessments are questionable. Two, population is not accounted for. Population is important, in that it provides context to percentages. Because a dog’s breed is impossible to pinpoint, we cannot provide numbers. BSL’s cause is rendered useless when we consider these points.
By focusing on breed, BSL overlooks the external factors leading up to an attack. Studies from JAVMA state, “The
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It does little to address the main problem: irresponsible owners. As animals, dog’s do not have the same moral compass as humans. It is an owner’s job to train, socialize, vaccinate, neuter, license, and provide all necessary living essentials for their pet. Establishing and enforcing leash laws is also important in ensuring the safety of others. Citizens should be educated in knowing dog body language, behaviors that are safe around a dog, and what to when a dog shows hostility. Children not old enough to understand these guidelines should require adult supervision. Taking these steps will help prevent more victims from experiencing the physical and emotional pain related to a
In 2005, the Ontario Liberal government passed The Dog Owner’s Liability Act: a ban against pit bull terriers in the province. After the bill passed, Attorney General Michael Bryant said, “Mark my words, Ontario will be safer” (Ontario passes ban on pit bulls, 2005). The legislation prevented people from acquiring a number of breeds of dogs that would be classified as pit bulls. In addition, Ontario residents who already owned a pit bull terrier prior to the ban were required to neuter and muzzle their animals. Such policies against this breed of animal are not unprecedented. In fact, similar laws are already in place in Britain, France and Germany. In Canada, Winnipeg has had a ban against pit bull terriers in place for 20 years (Ontario passes ban on pit bulls, 2005). Ontario and other regions have imposed these sanctions because the evidence clearly indicates that pit bull terriers pose a much higher than average risk to people.
According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), there is a “great deal of confusion associated with the label ‘Pit Bull,’” as it does not refer to a single breed of dog, but rather to a group of breeds with similar characteristics1. These characteristics include short hair, a wide skull and shoulders, muscle definition, stocky build and a deep jawline, the combination of which create a dog that manages to strike fear into a perfect stranger. The term ‘Pit Bull’ is derived from the bulldog, which was originally bred as a hunting dog for large game, but has since developed into a “loyal companion rather than a working dog.”1 Their history as “gripping dogs” for hunters follows them into modern society, as many of these dogs have been inhumanely pitted against one another as well as other animals for sport and for human entertainment1. It is because of these illegal fighting rings that ‘Pit Bull’ type breeds have become the subje...
[Reveal topic & relate to audience] Now, you may think that situation is a bit farfetched, especially in this day & age, but it's happening to dogs around the world. What I'm talking about is breed specific legislation (or BSL) which targets certain dog breeds considered dangerous and makes ownership of these dogs illegal. As more and more people share their lives with dogs, we need to be knowledgeable about the effects dogs can have on our communities.
For owning a dog that wasn’t registered or not obeying with the rules once it is registered by keeping it on a leash and muzzled when in public as well as in a car resulted in the dog being destroyed. There were no other options that were available to the courts. The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 is the greatest proof that the principles of democracy and justice have been unashamedly ignored. Parents and children were left in tears with their dogs being taken away from them for months and kept in kennels in secret locations.
Commonly targeted breeds are usually judged based on their appearances, rather than actual documentation. Various studies have shown that most of the dogs involved in fatal attacks are of unknown breed, and most of them are intact. Owner responsibility is perhaps the most important aspect of preventing aggressive behaviors. Even though sometimes a dog is properly trained and cared for by his or her owner, there is still the possibility of aggression regardless of breed. The best place to start in order to make the world a safer place for other animals and humans, laws demanding a higher standard of care for animals should be implemented.
Everyone should care about this topic because lives are being taken due to this problem. Since there is an overpopulation of dogs in the United States of America shelters are overcrowded and are unable to help all the animals. To make room for more they euthanize some old ones to make room for the new ones. Also if there is an overpopulation in puppy mills some of them let the dogs go astray with no shots or anything. There could be a stray dog in your neighborhood with diseases and they could attack you at any moment. If this situation is not better addressed more animals will die everyday and the chances of someone either getting attacked by a stray dog with diseases or running over a dog will
Pit bulls are targeted in this ineffective solution to dog attacks. Perhaps the reason why pit bulls are feared by society because we are afraid of what they are associated with. Pit bulls are often thought of as a gangster’s pet; a role in violent and illegal activities. People stereotype this breed because of the unfortunate acts of few. In contrast, society needs to understand that they are being racist towards a breed of dog. Denver’s systematic killing of pit bulls could be compared to the actions of the Nazis during the holocaust. Although BLS is not even close to being on the same scale as the Holocaust, it is targeting and killing a specific group of living beings. Breed Specific Legislation is genocide of this breed. Denver alone has killed at least 3,500 pit bulls. It’s heart wrenching to think about how many families lost their steadfast companions because of the ignorance of others. A common phrase among pit bull supporters is, “Judge the deed: not the breed”. This rings true; if we are to bring justice to the breed, then we need to abolish BSL. True pit bulls are a far from the monsters they are made to
Most of the dogs on this list are common household pets, like the Labrador retriever, and are normally non-aggressive and very friendly. Many times these dogs show no sign of aggression and pose no threat to society. Perspective One Breed-specific laws were put in place with the expectation to help prevent dog bites and attacks. The State and Federal government both came to the conclusion that this is a positive way to promote safety from dog attacks. “Both state and federal courts consistently uphold the constitutionality of breed-specific pit bull laws.... ...
In recent years it has been the pit bull which has come under the scrutiny of legislative bodies, as their reputation becomes more and more sullied by street crime. To say “pit bull,” however, is a vague reference to several pit bull types, which are considered separate breeds by registries like the American Kennel Club (AKC). Each type has a slightly different breeding history; many began with the breeding of bulldogs with terriers to produce a loyal, compact and tenacious breed (“American Pit Bull Terrier”). The three standard pit bull types most often mentioned by name in breed-specific legislation include the American Pit Bull Terrier, the American Staffordshire Terrier, and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier. That is not the extent of the legislation, however, which also includes dogs that “substantially conform to the breed standards established by the American Kennel Club” (Melvindale)....
Currently, pit bulls have been reported by the media with very horrific and disturbing news of having attacked a child or being shot by a police due to aggression while some are reported to have been abused or neglected by its owners (Forderer and Unkelbach 534). And because the reports keep coming with heated discussions, more and more people have forged a frightening image of pit bulls even to the extreme of refusing to take care of such breed. Pit bull advocates claim that the dogs get a bad reputation considering that people should learn the dogs are not inherently aggressive. What the pit bull advocates would like to point is that the owners of the pit bulls should be considered guilty for mishandling of their own dogs. There are owners of pit bulls that even encourage the dog to be aggressive in order to fight and protect them in a wrong manner and wrong degree of training (Forderer and Unkelbach 536). Pit bull advocates claimed that a well socialized and well trained pit bull would be very intelligent and could be one of the gentle dogs imaginable.
Also, educating parents and grandparents etc, on animal/ children safety could greatly reduce the number of attacks on children. You should never leave a young child unattended with a dog, or any animal for that matter, its just not safe. Children that have been attacked by family dogs that have been around said child its whole life, tend to be the results of the child being left alone with the dog and not properly supervised, not nasty or mean dogs. Any dog could snap and turn on somebody, esp a child who say, doesn’t realize the dog is in pain and jumps on them etc. As long as dogs and childrens interactions are supervised many dangerous situations can be avoided.
b. “Many people have a difficult time properly identifying a true Pit Bull, so added to the statistics are those dogs that have been misidentified. Considering these factors, the actual number of attacks attributable to American Pit Bull Terriers is considerably lower than represented,” according to the real pit bull. i. Do you think a 4 pound Pomeranian dog would hurt anybody? ii. Stated in the Dog Bite Law, “The most horrifying example of the lack of breed predictability is the October 2000 death of a 6-week-old baby, which was killed by her family 's Pomeranian dog.” a. The American Temperament Test is a test that measures a dog strong avoidance, unprovoked aggression, and panic without recovery. “American Pit Bull Terriers passed the test at a rate of 85.3%,” according to Pitbulls.org. They have the highest test scores, and they out beat the golden retriever “family dog” by 7.7%. iii. I identify the justice of my rival’s claim, but I disagree with my rival’s 100 percent about pit bulls having the highest attacks. c. Now you can see how my rival made a mistake because they didn’t evaluate and understood the facts as clearly as they
...ociated Press published an article “Pit Bulls are A Danger to Society,” yet this year, the same publisher issued an article “Attitudes and Laws Against the Pit Bull Soften – The Big Story” in which the Pit bull advocates hail the changes as recognition that breed-specific laws discriminate against dogs that are not inherently aggressive or dangerous should not be discriminated against or victimized. The debate puts millions of pit bull owners up against a relatively small group of activists against the breed and challenges the notion that Pit Bulls that are well-cared for had any history of aggressive behavior in the first place, closing the argument by again stating what the Canadian Encyclopedia explained, that their actions were just a park of the cycle of favorites and least favorites that has always been and always will be in the history of ownership of dogs.
Dogs have impacted the lives of 44% of American families and homes. People use dogs for much more than just a family friend. Dogs are used for special needs, assisting police, and hunting and tracking. Dogs should be appreciated and never taught to fight or be neglected. Dog fighting is unethical because man’s best friend shouldn’t have to fight for their lives.
Dogs are wonderful creatures. They are loyal, dependable companions if given the opportunity. In recent years I have come to the opinion that we could learn something from these animals. We should also take a look at the manner in which they are being treated. Abandonment, irresponsible breeding, and neglect are only some of the ways that humans are failing the canine species.