Why are american pit bull terriers banned in the UK?

Question

what is the reason for it, I am assuming since a lot of people on here think they are lovely dogs that our government has made a huge mistake and just banned them for no reason. Also what are the statistics for being attacked by a pit bull, all I here about are the fatal attack statistics what about the people who survive attacks to tell the tale, surely they are worth noting too when you start reeling off your statistics and how theres only been 3 fatal deaths per year or what ever it is.

you find that people that go on with their statstics don't mention the poor people who survive such as the man you mention who had his arm torn off.

whats guns got to do with it, and actually guns are banned here too.

Answer 1

personaly i think that a whole breed shouldnt be judged by a few individuals, which is proberly down to the owners, but pit bulls are bred to fight so its in there blood basically and they can be dangerous even if they do not want to be, like if there playing or something, but if im right it crosses are allowed in britain

Answer 2

It is due to the fact there is such a negative stereotype in the media of this beautiful breed. Pit Bulls makes headlines when they are left with horrible owners who do not train, socialize, or care for these dogs. Most of these dogs that attack are ones that have been left on a chain with little to no human affection....they don't know how to act properly.

People think that by banning the breed...it will prevent these attacks. All banning does is reinforce that the dogs will be owned underground, strays, and if there are certain restrictions...it will only punish the responsible owners who follow the guidelines (do you think the person who left their dog chained for all its life will really go thru the trouble of registering, paying fees, etc?).

Here are some websites I advise for you to check out on some statistics that you are looking for:
www.pbrc.net
www.badrap.org
www.workingpitbull.com
www.understand-a-bull.com
www.turtlemoonrescue.org

Here are some of the other breeds that attacked in Nov. that you prolly didn't hear about:
Bull Mastiff
New Foundland
Weimeraner
German hunting dog
Shepherd/Collie mix
Beagle
Shar Pei mix
Akita
Lab/Pug mix
Dachshund - mutilated an infant
Poodle
German Shepherd
German short-haired pointer
Plus a lot of other mixed breed and toy dogs

The owners are responsible for their dogs and their dogs behavior...it is their fault if they do not properly care for and socialize the dog. These dogs historically have been great with children, formerly known as the "Nanny Dog" and all they want to do is please their owner.

Also is the common misconception of what a Pit Bull actually looks like.
www.understand-a-bull.com has a Find the Pit Bull game...I encourage you to play it. This is another reason banning this breed is uneffective, many animal control officers can not properly identify the breed.

Answer 3

Due to the ignorance and fear people have brung up upon themselves , people are just highly feared by pit bulls now . Which isn't really fair because more Golden Retrievers , Labs and Cocker Spaniels attack more than APBT's do. Originally , the APBT was an All American Family Dog back in the 30's and 40's . You would rarely hear about any attacks on any dogs or this breed . Now , its become an everyday thing where people report about a pit bull attacking someone . Which is not true most of the times . Most of the pits ive heard on the news were not the real true APBT . They were either fonies or a mixed breed look alike . And besides Fatal Attack Statics will prove nothing if you have no real actual data based information . All statics are just randomely estimated and or based opinions ..
When you ban a breed of dog in society , it can create problems for people who have APBT's or Bully Breeds . BSL or Breed Specific Legislation is what i would call a "quick fix " problem . Meaning they correct the problem by banning a breed of dog . Its just sad to see what ignorance and fear can do to an entire generatiioon of our society . Hopefully , later on in time , common sense will begin to kick in and there will be lesss of banning and BSL for our sakes .

Answer 4

I don't know the laws in the UK. Are the other Pit breeds banned, the American Staffordshire Terrier and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier? I think those breeds are recognized by the UKC and the APBT is not. If the other Pits are not banned it is pretty funny. Think Peaty from the old Our Gang movies. He was registered by the AKC as an APBT. He was registered by the UKC as an American Staffordshire Terrier. Same dog.
Banning a breed is outrageous. Dogs should be taken on an individual basis. Bad dogs should be put down, but not the whole breed. I have two APBTs that are the sweetest dogs I have ever had.

Answer 5

I too believe that pit bulls have a bad rep because of the fighting and miss treatment of them, ANY dog can be trained to bite, with the right training and knolege of these dogs they can become a great pet. the sad part is the wrong people are getting these dogs for the wrong reason and that is why they are known as bad dogs. alot of people choose to see them as monsters and see only the bad in them but there are alot of great pit bulls out there with alot of training and loving homes! to ban them all together would not make the problem go away, as I have said before if there were no pit bulls left the bad people would just start on another breed, then what ban them too? sorry to say that its not just pit bulls being banned in the bsl laws, they are just one breed in many that are the target! how long is it going to take before they start banning all dogs that are over a certain weight or color or what ever the reason! Im sorry I dont believe in banning anything for any reason, I have seen chichwawas, and golden retrievers bite, as a matter of fact a chichwawa bit my son and a golden left my sisters face perminantly scarred should we ban them too?

Answer 6

I don't live in the UK, however I know that Pit Bull bans are popping up in the US due to ignorance combined with the need for a scapegoat. More people are killed in car, plan and train wrecks, smoking tobacco, 5 gallon buckets and alcohol related instances than in pit bull attacks. Add to that the fact that very few people can accurately identify a pit bull and you come out with many attacks attributed but unsubstantiated. The reality of BSL is that it's aimed at heading off a symptom rather than "curing" the problem. Kind of like pruning a tree. You take off leaves and branches to make the rest of the tree healthier but it doesn't kill the tree.

Answer 7

Probably for the same reason that they have been banned in Ontario and need a muzzle if they are out. It is the media that has painted them as ferocious animals and all of them are painted with the same brush.

Granted Pit Bulls are generally bred as a fighting/baiting dog. However, like all breeds of dogs and like children it is up to the owner/parent to train them properly and teach them how to behave. I have known some that a very dangerous and should be banned, these are all owned by people who tend to abuse them or try to train them for the express purposes of being mean. While others I have come across are completely placid and very pleasant and do well with other animals and very small children.

It won't be long until some other breed becomes the scapegoat, whether it's German Shepards, Rottweillers or some other breed remains to be seen.

Just like people dogs come with all personalities and to say one breed is all bad is like saying any one group of people are all bad. There are a great deal of variables as to how a dog, just like people, will behave with others.

Answer 8

Because it's easier to pin the problem on the dog race than it is to point the finger at stupid people who shouldn't be allowed to own animals because they don't care for them.

But from a legislative point of view, it takes less political courage to ban a certain breed than to actually make penalties for animal abuse harsher. When you single out just one breed, then the opposition is less vocal than if you made laws against animal cruelty tighter.

So many jurisdictions just decide to shut up groups of "concerned citizens" by banning breeds that get the bad reps.

Truth of the manner, there aren't any breeds of dogs that are inherently bad. Pit bulls are used as firefighting dogs and during rescue efforts in many European countries. The different is in how the dog is raised.

The real problem lies in inadequate handlers and people who leave their kids without supervision with strange dogs.

Answer 9

In my opinion, its due to the ignorance of people. (NOT just the government in the UK hon).

So many people are quick to jump on the whole "Pitbulls are bad" bandwagon, that it has, overall, given the pitbull a bad name.

If you have the time to read, check out the two sites I've listed below that give some insight on APBT's as well as a bit of information as to where they came from and HOW/WHY/WHAT they were bred to be/do.

Everyone believes a pitbull was bred to fight.....do your research folks, they weren't bred to fight initially...it was only after greed and certain outlawing of bull baiting...that pitbulls began to be used for fighting purposes.


On a side note: I have an APBT, she is the best mouser I have. 5 months ago, when I first bought and moved to the ranch I'm on now, I had three cats and two dogs.
My APBT caught 18 mice in one day. She caught them, pierce their underbelly with her bottom teeth and stacked them up for me to see, on the then concrete base of my new garage. (Even my cats can't boast to this feat)
Prior to moving here, I lived in Tacoma Wa. She rid my garden of slugs within three days...by ratting them out. She would stand for some time in one place, feeling the movement of the slug. (yeah, I said feeling.....she would watch the ground, not moving...until she could pinpoint where it was)....She would then rut her nose into the dirt, coming up with a slug. At first, she would eat them...but within a day had to show me her prize "catch" and started dumping them at my feet when I was outside.

She has never been agressive towards anyone other than to let you know she is there. She will plant herself between you and me until I give the command that all is fine. Once she hears it, she wanders off to do something else.
She doesn't "take off" or go anywhere without someone in my family that knows her commands.
In Tacoma, we took her to the waterfront puppy park 4 times a week to socialize her. While there we would meet people that swore they had an APBT, when indeed it was a Mastiff.
We met people that wanted to breed her with their dogs. (I fixed her at 4 months, I didn't want another pitbull at the time and I didn't want to be responsible for bringing more dogs into the world for idiots to turn into fighters)
We met people that were truly terrified and hated her breed....yet when they met her, they loved her, until I told them what she was. (When she was a pup...you couldn't tell she was an APBT).

People are unaware of what an APBT truly is, what they were bred for and the realization that only a small percentage of true APBT's are responsible for any form of attack on anyone or anything.
The media will call any and all dog attacks on a human "pitbull attacks". They don't truly KNOW if it was a pitbull....but they assume it is because of their .."Well it has to be, only pitbulls would do such"...ignorance.

I will not sit here and say "Everyone should run out and get a pitbull"...they are NOT for everyone.
They take training, patience and time. They take a responsible person that can deal with them properly. (NOT saying anyone else that owns a dog is not responsible, I'm stating over and over again that someone who owns an APBT has to be more patient of the breed, take more time with it and learn how to deal with others over their choice of breed).

That's my two cents on the whole thing. * I know, its a small book*

Answer 10

I'm not exactly sure why they are banned in the UK but I'm pretty sure that the BSL has something to do with it..... a few answers above me mentioned the website www.understand-a-bull.com. it's a great site that provides tons of insight for those who are to ignorant to truly care, and for those that want to educate themselves..... It's a great site to vist.... It's a must to check it out! The BSL affects most dogs over 100 lbs...... watch out... your dog breed could be next!