Punishment of owners of pit bulls that kill people?

Question

Fatal pit bull attacks are skyrocketing nationwide. What should be the punishment of owners of pit bulls that kill people? Or Pets ?

Answer 1

i really think the breed should be abnned, ya dotn hear about bassett hounds doing taht ( i have 2) it IS an inherent trait of the dog to be violent, thye wer bred that way. theya re nto cute and fluffy and nice etc

Answer 2

The owners should never be allowed to own another dog. Ever. The dog should be put down. And no, fatal pit bull attacks aren't skyrocketing, the media just chooses to report pit bull attacks more frequently now to cause hype. And the punishment should go to all dogs. Don't be racist.

Answer 3

Well that depends on the situation. If the dog bit or killed someone who was trying to harm its owner, that dog SHOULD NOT be punished! That's what dogs do. If someone was tormenting the dog and was attacked for it, well DUH! I guarantee that if someone kicked me or poked me with a stick that I'd defend myself too! If the dog kills an animal that came into its yard, that is on the owner of the other animal (providing the yard was adequately fenced). If the dog (leashed or in its own fenced yard) killed another animal (likely a dog) because that animal attacked it or its owner, that is also on the owner of the other animal. Now if the dog attacked a human or animal unprovoked or wasn't properly controlled (either with fencing appropriate to the dog or a leash), well that is on the owner and s/he should be punished. Unfortnately, these dogs cannot safely be placed in another home and I don't feel that the owner is responsible enough to safely keep the dog so it should be humanely euthanized. I do not feel that the owner should be allowed to own another animal (or at least one that can harm someone) and that person should be fined at the very least. I would even be okay with a charge of involuntary manslaughter if the dog killed a person unprovoked because a dog, no matter what breed, has the POTENTIAL to harm or kill. All owners need to be aware of this and work to control his/her own dog.

I DO NOT believe this should only apply to owners of bull type breeds. American Pit Bull Terriers (pit bull is a dog type, not a breed) are not even the number one breed for dog bites nor is any other pit bull type breed. ALL dog owners that do not control their animals need to be punished. The dogs suffer, the victims' families suffer, so why should the owners not suffer?

BTW Just so noone says I am being unfair, I am a dog owner (three shepherds and a mix breed) and I feel that this applies to myself as well.

Answer 4

Not just owners of PIt Bulls but owners of all breeds need to be held responsible. And each situation is different and the punishment should be based upon the circumstances. I have been around dogs all my life and of all the attacks I have seen you known about (10 in total) not one was a Pit Bull.

Answer 5

If it is a provoked attack than the person who provoked it is at fault. If it is an unprovoked bite BY ANY BREED OF DOG, then depending on certain circumstances (like is this the first bite, and they severity) both the owner and the dog should receive a punishment that fits the crime.

Just for the record: I have never met a mean Pit and I never met a nice Chihuahua. Small breed dogs are often WAY meaner than large breed dogs and they are more likely to bite when not provoked.

Answer 6

They are not sskyrocketing they only seemed tobe because almost no ohter dog attack is reported. The stats show pit attacks as gone down while rotts are up. You may ask why? Well becasue all those bad owners that owned pit and were not punished for letting them run loose in the frist place and when they bann rotts what breed will be next. Well only way to stop these dog attacks is to bann all dogs over 25lbs right. I hope someday you pull your head out of your a@@ and grow up, About everything

Answer 7

The animal should be taken away from the current owners.
The owners should be held 100% responsible for ANY damages, unfortunately this includes death.
The owners should never be able to own any other pets.

The animal, unfortunately, will be euthanized as it has shown agression.

But...this should apply to ALL dogs...I don't care if its a Pit Bull or a Toy Poodle. Just because it's classified as a pet, it's STILL AN ANIMAL...they all have teeth, fangs included!

Be a responsible owner...you know your pet...not the stranger...keep agressive animals out of the public interaction.

Answer 8

No. What happens if a dog has an underlying problem that nobody knows about, and his new owner has him on a leash one day and he goes nuts, reacting negatively to someone? Or somebody chooses to open the gate and allow a dog to run free, endangering everybody? Or somebody provokes the dog?

There's just too many situations where that's not fair to the person. I agree, most of the attacks are from dogs who's owners SHOULD be punished, but not all.

Answer 9

If the dog kills someone or attacks them do what's right, uethenise it, the owner should be put in jail for a long time and then they should never be aloud to own another dog, or animal again.

Answer 10

I think that the owners should have to get special training for their pit bulls, and for themselves. If the dog attacks, it should be put in isolation and retrained until it will not attack people. The owner of the attacking pit bull should have to pay for any damages done to the attacked individual, and pay for the dog to get retrained.

Answer 11

Owners should spend at least 6 months in jail and be banned from owning any more dogs. Its not the dogs fault. Its the owners fault for not providing proper training.