What is Breed Specific Legislation about??

Question

Ideas on what to write for a paper.

Answer 1

Legislation to ban certain breeds.

Answer 2

The woman in San Franco was killed by two Presa Carario which show when someone says it was a pit bull and it was not no one wants to corrit it because pit bulls make better news.
BLS is a knee jerk response to a false believe that some breeds of dogs are more dangerous than others. It is easier than addressing the real problem, the humans who do not take care or train their dogs in the right way.
Banning Pit Bulls or any breed, would be like banning cars because people get killed in car accidents! Who's responsible, the car or the driver/manufacturer? Any car can be deadly in the wrong hands or if built with defective parts. Same thing with dogs... Any dog. Pit Bulls are no more responsible for the way they are bred, raised and trained, than cars are responsible for the way they are designed, built and driven.
Simply put, the best argument against breed bans is that they are costly and ineffective. Breed bans are often a knee-jerk reaction from politicians who want to say they are "doing something", after a highly publicized dog attack (of any breed). This is a useless exercise.
Criminals habitually break laws, so having an "illegal breed" may indeed be attractive to them and might make them want to breed and sell more "illegal dogs". If their dog is confiscated and killed, they really don't care. They will just get another one because breed bans punish the dog, not the owner.

Answer 3

It's a form of animal racism/stereotyping - blame a specific breed of dogs rather then judge each dog as an individual. A breed or breeds will be banned - anyone owning one will have to "get rid of" what they may consider as a family member even if that particular dog is not a problem. People visiting such areas with a banned breed will now be a criminal. It's a really bad thing that anyone who owns a pet of any type or a canine of any breed should be against. Any breed could be targeted, even small ones (statistically, Poodles, Chihuahuas, and Cocker Spaniels are the breeds most likely to bite).

Answer 4

My husband and I became familiar with breed restrictions a few years ago when we rescued a doberman from a group three counties over. When we went to the local pet shop to purchase a dog license and told the clerk what breed the dog was, she handed us paperwork on the "dangerous breed" requirements within our city.

We had to take a number of step to ensure our neighbors knew that we had a "potentially threatening" dog. He had to wear a reflective orange collar, no less that 2 inches wide. We had to have a sign posted on our property stating that we had a dangerous dog. We needed to keep records of vaccines and health exams on file in case city officials wanted to check in on our dog. There was even some concern that our home owner's insurance would cancel our policy because of the breed of dog we'd just adopted.

What we found most amusing (for lack of better words) was that our dog was a total prince. There was no objective evaluation done by a veterinarian or dog warden; they simply assumed that since our dog looked scary, he WAS scary. My husband is a veterinarian and I'm a vet tech, and in my years of practicing, I've never been bitten by a doberman. In fact, a fast majority of my bites were inflicted by small breed dogs like poodles, schnauzers and cocker spaniels. In the state of Ohio, the number one breed reported with bites was the English Springer Spaniel - a breed gloriously absent from every dangerous breed list I researched after our experience.

It would be foolish to say that there are no breeds predisposed to aggression - the fact is that some dogs have the genetic hard-wiring that can make them prone to developing some nasty behavior. But the breed specific legislation often makes broad generalizations and discriminates against dogs who simply would not hurt a fly.

I hope my story helps give you some ideas for your paper - it is very frustrating for good dog owners to jump through hoops to accommodate unfair restrictions. Good luck on your paper!

Answer 5

When I was working as a paralegal in California, many California cities had adopted specific laws regarding ownership of certain types of breeds of dogs. If I remember correctly, these laws came about after the case involving the young woman who was attacked in San Francisco in her apartment hallway by a pit bull. You might start there.

Answer 6

BSL is about banning dogs that are considered more "dangerous" than othere. I personally believe this is stupid. Any dog could be dangerous if not properly taken care of. It's the owners who should be punished. People need to realize that if they get a pitbull, doberman, etc..., they need special care. They need more walks and ways to release their energy. If you keep them locked up in apartment all day, they're going to freak. It's very sad. What would Cesar Milan say?

Answer 7

Legislation means to ban certain breeds of animals.

Hoped I helped :)

Answer 8

Here are some sites to help you:
http://www.pbrc.net/breedspecific.html

http://www.dogwatch.net/

http://www.animallaw.info/articles/aruslweiss2001.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breed-specific_legislation

http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/breedlaws.html

http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/dangerous_dogs.html

http://www.goodpooch.com/BSL/cdnbsl.htm

This would be a fabulous paper!

http://www.libertydogtraining.com