Survey to stop BSL (What would you do for the poor pooches at risk)?

Question

First I will Define BSL, than I have an important question for you. Only answer if you don't mind us using these suggestions and answers to help these poor dogs.

Breed-specific legislation (BSL), is any law, ordinance or policy which pertains to a specific dog breed or breeds, but does not affect any others. The term is most commonly used to refer to legal restrictions or prohibitions on the breeding and ownership of certain breeds.

-wikipedia.org

Now keep in mind many places are not only banning certain breeds Such as Pitt bulls (but not limited to pit bulls) but having them euthanized. (In Canada I read that Jack Russell Terriers are at risk,)

Now for the question

"What are your thoughts on Breed Specific Legislation and do you feel there is a better solution?"

What do you feel that solution is?

Thanks

Answer 1

Legacy dogs that can pass a thorough temperment test should not be punished (ie executed), but they should be subjected to more stringent dog containment laws (ie. bypass leash laws.  No excuses at any time for the animal to be freely roaming).

These legacy dogs should not be allowed to breed.  So, it's the last generation of these dangerous breeds.

Answer 2

Ignorance is the cause for BSL, and all breed specific ideas, and prejudice.  

What eliminates ignorance?  Education.

Not just with the advocates for breeds, and the embassadors (the dogs) themselves, but with the "bad" seeds too.  Stopping bad breeding, inbreeding, abusive owners, poor trainers, weak handlers.  Eliminate the animals carrying the bad genes (through spaying, neutering, and rehabilitation).

Answer 3

I feel that BSL is absolutely wrong. Owners who should be penalized for their dog's behavior. Eliminating a breed isn't going to fix the problem - the maniacs who obtain a certain breed doog and then teach it to kill or be violent will continue to do so, just with a different breed.  

The solution is better policing of animals and their owners but fat chance that will happen. Maybe a reward for reporting people who train their dogs to be violent would help. I don't know the solution because it's people-based, not dog-based.

Answer 4

Licensing should be brought back in a more effective manner than it was before.  How?  Not sure, I haven't looked that far into it and I have no idea how the legal system works.  Much harsher punishments for neglect/cruelty/fighting/etc.  I don't mean punishment for someone who feeds Purina instead of Wellness or someone who leaves their dog in a crate during the day while they're at work.  I mean for the REAL crimes...the things people would be raked across the coals for doing to their children.  There is little to no education on proper ownership and proper breeding...well there is, but not readily available and mostly quite expensive.  Those who make the rules still regard dogs as an agricultural crop instead of dogs who need to be raised in a responsible environment and it's despicable.  There needs to be spay/neuter laws and much more education on places like puppy mills and BYBs and WHY it's a bad idea to just sell puppies to whatever Joe Six Pack walks into your house and asks for one, simply to turn a profit and WHY genetic and health screenings are important.

BSL will not stop the criminals from owning the breed, it just means they'll be even more secretive about their doings.  It means that responsible pittie owners who love their dog will keep him/her hidden instead of getting proper vet care and getting them fixed, to avoid their companion being taken away.

It is a lazy attempt for the government to cover up a problem instead of just using their half brains to come up with and execute USEFUL laws and implentations (most of the things listed by people in their answers here shows real insight and real ways of handling it)...but no, they're too busy figuring out ways to rape us on taxes, to keep g*y people from marrying and letting the rich people get richer while the poor get poorer.  Fan-effing-tastic.

Answer 5

i'm with the first answer. BSL does not work. here in the UK we have the wonderful DDA. (dangerous dogs act.) this is BSL. it hasnt stopped dogs biting, it has however shifted the focus onto other breeds such as the staffordshire bull terrier and other "dangerous" dogs.

the solution? we're looking at the wrong end of the leash. its the owners that need to be brought into check. i see so many young children walking dogs they struggle to control. i walk my stafford and am never surprised at how many times children have been dragged by their dogs at an attempt by their dogs to get to mine. what kind of responsible dog owner allows a child to walk a dog on thier own?! harsher penalties are called for with regards to neglect and dog licenses should be brought back. only it should be like a driving license. you take classes to learn how to be responsible and graduate at the end with a license.

many people use the excuse that licensing didnt work last time and whats the point of people with flout it? well people flout laws all the time, it doesnt stop them being laws. people still murder people but its still illegal to do! get my drift? the other argument people throw at with licensing. is how is it to be financed? simple. you pay for your license and classes. if your serious about owning a dog, and not just for the "cute" puppy value then you'll pay it. anyone caught with a dog without the correct paperwork is prosecuted with again a harsh consequence.

owners are the problem not the dogs. all dogs have the capability to be dangerous, in the right hands they're not.  

Answer 6

Breed specific legislation doesn't work, and has been proven not to work so much so that some cities are overturning the ordinances. The problems are poor breeding and ownership, and the lack of enforcement of current laws.

The REAL solution is much more complicated: Harsher punishments for neglect and cruelty, limits on tethering and chaining, stricter leash laws, breeding laws, spay/neuter laws, and regulations in place for those wishing to own a larger dominant breed. BSL is an attempt to take the easy way out. Unfortunately, it punishes the good with the bad, and only serves to perpetuate stereotypes.

EDIT: Earl, explain to me then why BSL isn't working? If it IS in fact the solution, why doesn't it work.

Perhaps because, when you outlaw something, only outlaws will have that something? Or, is it maybe because it does nothing to attack the root of the problem: Poor breeding and ownership? It fixes NOTHING. It is a lazy, pathetic, halfassed solution to a much much bigger problem. It is pointless and asinine to heap new laws on top of the rarely enforced existing ones.

Answer 7

BSL is the first step to what I believe will be the real goal: Taxation! Right now, local municipalities and States have all kinds of legistation aimed at restricting dog ownership, dog breeding and dog licensing-and the other side of that is they are increasing all kinds of costs associated with 'kennel licensing' or imposition of taxes.  To me, responsible ownership is the answer, however, as we all know, everyone is not 'responsible'.  Government is interested in one thing: Revenues.  They say they are protecting the people, concerned about the general welfare of its citizens, but in reality, each new law usually has some form of spending and revenue included in it.  I also believe by restricting certain breeds, they are only making those breeds more desirable because they will appear to be more rare a find.  I think that euthanization without cause is horrendous.  My ex was attacked by a pit bull-he still has nightmares. But the dog was trained to attack and was used to guard a drug house-long story by my ex was in the wrong place at the wrong time due to incorrect address, and he was scarred for life.  The dog did what its owners trained him to do, he was not viscious because of his breed.  Some breeders, when confronted with a dog that has 'temperment' issues, will have them put down, do not breed them, and will not risk their future lines with animals that have temperment issues.  But that is not all of the breeders, only some.  

The solution is that dog breeders should weed out those dogs with temperment issues-eliminate from breeding stock.  Dog owners should not enhance aggressive traits in their dogs, and they should spay/neuter any that display aggression.  Governments should impose fines on owners based on adjudicated cases, and remove the dog from that owner -and yes, euthanize when necessary if the dog proves that it cannot be rehabilitated.  

Answer 8

we need stricter laws for people committing cruelty towards animals, a little slap on the hand is not working... if people are charged with a animal cruelty crime they should be banned from owning pets for at least 5 years and check in on.. if they have one when not supposed to then more punishment and banned for life from owning pets.

Answer 9

All you have to do is look where BSL has been implemented, and see that it fails.

The most common results of BSL are:

- Owners hiding their dogs, and not taking them anywhere they might get reported (like the Vet, or to obedience classes).

- Attendant to the above, an increase in unwanted whelping, due to people not taking their dogs in to be altered at the Vet.

- "Snitch" mentality in the neighborhoods, with people reporting anything that even remotely resembles the 'banned' breed.

- People deliberately falsifying registrations, typically by mis-reporting the breed.

- An actual *reduction* in pet license fees as people with banned breeds simply stop registering their dogs.

The correct answer is to make dog education easily and inexpensively available to anyone who asks for it, including obedience, health, and socializing classes. To those, add low-cost spay and neuter programs, and general community awareness programs.

Answer 10

BSL is a disgusting practice, made from prejudiced reactions to certain breeds, instead of the irresponsible owners and breeders of these animals. BSL has proven not to work, since the number of deaths and dog bites have not decreased because of irresponsible owners and breeders, not the specific breed of dog, that end up making a dog aggressive and dangerous. Ontario is a prime example where deaths and bites have not decreased in the slightest after pit bulls were banned.

Any ill-bred dog can turn, as is proven with many puppy mill dogs and BYB dogs. I have known several people attacked by pet store dogs, including a cocker spaniel, silky terrier, bichon frise, and golden retriever. All these dogs were destroyed, since the attacks were vicious, several by the cocker spaniel and silky terrier leading to hospital visits for stitches, and the bichon frise attacking an infant to where the baby also needed stitches. The golden was immediately killed to get him off, and to retrieve the lip segment that he ripped off, of a 5 year child. There has also been an infant death resulting form a pomeranian attack. All of this goes to show that all ill-bred and ill-trained dogs are dangerous, not just pit bulls, pit bull-type dogs, or large breeds.

The only way to help these animals are extremely strict neutering and spaying laws, where only registered, licensed, breeders can breed including fines of thousands of dollars, not just hundreds for those who do not for every year the animal is not spayed or neutered, making it illegal to breed over a certain number of dogs at a time (ie. puppy mills), making it illegal to chain up a dog for longer then a certain number of hours a day (dogs are 3-4 times more likely to attack if chained up), charging those who have been training dogs to fight with illegal weapons possession, making it a criminal offense with mandatory prison sentence to fight dogs, and banning those who have fought dogs or roosters from owning ANY animal.

Education on breed types is also extremely important. Breeders should be responsible to ensure their puppies are going to homes where the specific breed's needs are met. Certain breeds do not do well in cities, and need open spaces, some breeds do not fair well with small or any children, some breeds need a more assertive owner, some breeds are "one person" dogs and can become aggressive towards other members in the household, others thrive on chaos and kids and need that interaction, and some should just be left as working dogs. If a breed is in a home where needs are not being met, frustration, aggression, and destruction can and will occur.

All breeds need discipline, need to be trained properly, need to be socialized, and need to be walked, to ensure a happy balanced animal.