I decided to write about breed specific legislation today (BSL) because I think it’s an important issue all around, and an issue that affects a lot of college students, more specifically those living off campus. BSL as defined by the ASPCA is, “'Breed-specific” legislation (BSL) is the blanket term for laws that either regulate or ban certain breeds completely in the hopes of reducing dog attacks.” More simply said, this is just breed discrimination.
Usually people, and subsequently their dogs, are most affected by this when trying to find an apartment/home that won’t accept a certain breed of dog. Either the owners have to find somewhere else to live, which often is difficult due to financial circumstances, or the owner must give up their dog. In this article, I’m going to use examples centered around “pitbulls” because they are the breed which is most commonly discriminated against. And you can find all this information by the ASPCA right here.
Moving on, one day during my spring semester at USF I went on a tour at an apartment I was interested in, very interested in actually because they were “pet friendly." The tour guide was pretty nice and polite, but after mentioning I owned a pitbull mix, he got all disgusted and said they didn’t allow “aggressive” breeds at the complex. While this angered me, I asked him if there was any possible way my dog would still be allowed to live with me. He replied, “Well is your dog at least mixed with something non-aggressive like a lab?”
Let’s break down all this ignorance, there’s a lot of it clearly. First of all, I would like to point out don’t turn into a huge a**hole when speaking to someone who may turn out to be a paying client, just because you are ignorant and don’t like my dog because you’ve already made the ignorant assumption that she’s aggressive because of her breed. Second, I would like to point out, it’s really just dumb to assume that if my dog were a so called “aggressive” breed, that being mixed with a labrador would somehow cure her of aggression.
This is an example of BSL and the damaging effects of it. Due to BSL and my dog being labeled as a typically “aggressive” breed, most insurance companies won’t cover her and most apartments wouldn’t allow her to stay at their complex. This is why BSL is so ineffective and frankly, just unfair. My dog who is house trained and well mannered with people, as well as dogs, is not allowed because she is a pitbull. The apartment also didn’t have any system of meeting the dog to see their temperament with dogs or people, you know, because it's just too logical for them.
To them, and to many others, breed determines character the of a dog. This puts people in so much more danger and they don’t even realize it. My dog, who was trained well, is rejected due to breed, while someone else could come in with a lab that is actually aggressive, but is accepted because of the stereotype that all labs are perfectly wonderful family/house pets. Which, don’t get me wrong, they can be. Just like any other dog can be with a responsible owner.
BSL is truly ineffective and causes more harm than good consistently. The ASPCA states that they are costly and difficult to enforce. “For example, Prince George’s County, MD, spends more than $250,000 annually to enforce its ban on Pit Bulls." In 2003, a study conducted by the county on the ban’s effectiveness noted that “public safety is not improved as a result of [the ban],” and that “there is no transgression committed by owner or animal that is not covered by another, non-breed specific portion of the Animal Control Code (i.e., vicious animal, nuisance animal, leash laws).”
The effects go even further, when BSL are in place, dogs are forced into shelter by owners who can’t keep them. On the other side of that, some owners try to keep their dogs, by hiding them away so they can’t be taken, but this results in dogs that are less socialized and less balanced by not getting exercise and their other needs met. Irresponsible people who are drawn to the idea of a dangerous breed of dog, using them to boost their status as a criminal. For example, in the city of Miami, pitbulls have been banned, yet dog fighting continues to run rampant.
To combat BSL more effective measures need to be put in place. Step one would be to not take media cover very seriously. We’ve probably all heard the horrific stories of pitbulls attacking children, other animals, etc. However, the term pitbull is actually an umbrella term for many types of dogs including, English bull dogs, American Staffordshire terriers, American Pitbull terriers, and many others. Often, mixed breeds dogs, who aren’t pitbulls at all but strongly resemble them are the attackers, but the media (who doesn’t DNA test the dogs) misrepresents them as pitbulls. And if you think its simple to identify a pitbull you’re wrong, play this game.
Next, would be to input more effective measures of safety, that can actually keep everyone safe. Such as, inputting leash laws, anti tethering laws, spaying/neutering your pets (lowers levels of aggression/excitement), animal fighting laws etc. BSL negatively affects a large host of dogs here's one of the list of commonly banned dogs, you might be surprised.
The takeout from this should be to focus on making people be responsible, good people. The only thing BSL does now is exempt people from taking responsibility for not properly caring for/training their dog, while punishing those who have done nothing but love the “wrong” breed. Lastly, educating people on this issue is a huge must! Spread the word around and be responsible owners. And if you’re interested in fighting BSL legally here’s a link on how to get started. Thank you.
(Photo provided by funnyjunk.com)
