Breed Specific Legislation: The Flawed System
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Dogs have been considered a man’s best friend for decades and the numbers to prove this do not lie, 59.5% of American households have a pet dog (Weise, 2001). With this data in hand, would it be fair to say America loves its furry four legged friends? Somewhat. A topic that is picking up steam in America is Breed Specific Legislation (BSL), and it is starting to create unnecessary controversy. Attempting to remove specific breeds from entire communities based on fear, is unjust. We as a country need to start looking deeper into this issue and decide who the real culprit is: the animal or the owner.

BSL is defined as a group of laws passed that regulate a certain breed’s ability to reside in a community. The breed catching the most heat currently is the pit bull. One of the issues with this is defining what a pit bull is. There are so many variances on what characteristics define these dogs. It has come down to any dog with a big head and a broad shoulder is in fact a pit bull. They are all profiled as aggressive, unpredictable, malicious animals. But, upon researching the history of these dogs in our country, you will find quite the opposite. They are of English decent, brought here by English immigrants. They were originally bred from Bulldogs and used as hunting dogs. In the early 1900’s, they were most known for being multi-purpose family dogs, with a reputation of protecting their family’s children (Kendrick, 2012). So, how did this entire breed turn bad?

Breed specific legislation is typically considered in a community after the media gets a hold of an incident with a certain breed. The media hype instills fear in a community, who then look to lawmakers for solutions from future occurrences. Their ideal problem solver is to restrict or ban the entire breed from the community. Some of these breed specific laws don’t even target specific breeds. More times than not, dogs are banned because they look like the breed. There is no account of how the dog was raised, trained, or their personality. In other words, if a dog looks mean, he is mean. And surprisingly, BSL has not targeted the same breed for all of history. With every new occurrence, a new ban takes place.

One of the reasons BSL is ineffective is the mere cost. When a breed ban is in place, employees for animal control must be bulked up, as they are the enforcers. This means more wages are being paid out. In 2003, the county cost to confiscate and euthanize a single pit bull was $68,000. Between 2001 and 2002, the cost to uphold the bans was $560,000! While the income coming in from registrations in that time was only $35,000. The average county is spending over $500,000 just to uphold these bans, while they are losing more money due to the decline of dog shows and events (Expense, 2012). In Denver, Colorado from May 2005-May 2006, 1,075 pit bulls were euthanized. If each of these cost $68,000, the total cost for that year was over 73 million dollars (Breed Specific Legislation, 2011). According to the fiscal calculator, if all cities in Florida put a ban into effect, it would cost the taxpayers 26 million dollars a year (Breed-specific Legislation (BSL) FAQ, 2013). In the current state of our nation’s finances, there are many other ways to spend 73 million dollars than euthanizing dogs ‘just in case.’

As silly as it may sound, BSL is as discriminatory as racial profiling. BSL was created in the early 1980’s after several dog related fatalities occurred in Florida (Weiss, 2001). The initial goal was to protect the community from vicious breeds and attempt to stop future incidents. Cities like Hollywood, Florida allowed all breeds but forced owners to carry larger insurance policies to protect the owners as well as anyone that may become injured because of the animal (Weiss, 2001). This just opened the flood gates for other communities to begin banning breeds “they” deemed necessary. The idea that certain breeds need to be banned due to accidents is outrageous. BSL doesn’t take into account anything else but the type of dog and the reason for the ban. If we back up and look at what created these issues in the first place, I think the ownness would be put on the owner and not the breed. Animals are like children and are a product of their environment. If the environment isn’t fit for a child than chances are it isn’t fit for a dog. If a young puppy is raised to be a fighting cage dog, and beaten everyday than it may be a burden for the community. With that being said, whose fault is it really, the breeds or the owners? An animal isn’t born bad, it’s trained to be that way.

Lastly, there is no real evidence that supports one breed being more dangerous than another. The ‘evidence’ in question has come from major media outlets that portray larger stature dogs as being more aggressive than others. Pit bulls have felt the brunt of poor journalism. The Micheal Vick dog fighting scenario proves that any animal put into that situation can act in ways that have been created by its owner. The real evidence is how the dogs reacted once removed from the dog fighting ring. Many of the dogs were rehabilitated and put up for adoption. The rescued dogs were placed in homes with competent owners and often the families had children (Philip, 2012). If that doesn’t say something about pit bulls, nothing does. How can we as a nation abolish BSL? There needs to be more strict leash laws for all animals, especially in public areas. Having more stringent leash laws will protect the public, the owner, and the dog because it will be controlled while in public places. Owner education needs to be a larger focus when owning large breed dogs. Due to the size and strength of these breeds and for the possibility of accidents owners need to be educated on training and handling of these breeds. The owner needs to be held responsible for incidents rather than the animal. Lastly, dogs should be spayed or neutered as soon as medically possible. Studies show increased aggression when hormone levels are increased in non-neutered dogs versus neutered dogs. The only way a dog should be able to remain unsprayed or unneutered is if the owner has a breeder’s license and plans to use the animals for breeding purposes.

One way to help put BSL to rest is to enforce leash laws at state and local levels. Putting leash laws into effect can be done at almost zero cost to the state and monitoring it can be done by local police. The state or city can fine the offender which can help supplement the cost of putting this ordinance into effect. Now that the city or state has an ordinance in place, the leash law can help protect the dog, owner, and passersby. The goal is to keep the animal and owner safe from other uncontrollable elements. When a dog is off leash the owner has less control over what the dog is able to do. Dogs, like children, like to put things in their mouths which can be dangerous to their health. Free roaming dogs could drink from an unsanitary water supply, attack an innocent wild animal like a squirrel or chipmunk which could carry rabies, or become injured by the foreign landscape (Brokaw, 2012). Lastly, when a dog is off leash and approaches another dog that is leashed it can be intimidating to the leashed dog which could lead to defensive behavior potentially causing injury to the animals or owner. Owner education is something that is often over looked when purchasing or adopting pit bulls or other large breed animals that are often affected by BSL. Owning a dog can be one of the most gratifying thing a person can do, but with that gratitude comes difficulty, especially if the owner is uneducated or under educated about the breed. With large breed dogs (especially pit bulls) they require tons of attention, lots of exercise, and much mental training (Pit Bull Education, 2013). This breed will flourish in your home with proper mental exercise. With that being said, a pit bull that is under exercised and under trained can become a nightmare. For those reasons alone training for the owner is as important as it is for the dog. The owner needs to understand how the breed is wired and what training tools are needed to create a happy dog and a happy home. A study done by the ASPCA regarding pit bull bites states, “84 percent were maintained by reckless owners—these dogs were abused or neglected, not humanely controlled or contained, or allowed to interact with children unsupervised (Breed Specific Legislation, 2013).” For this reason, when incidents occur, the media needs to start with the owner being the issue as well as the animal. Like a child, a dog learns from the owner therefore the owner needs to take responsibility for the dogs actions. Spaying and neutering a dog is very beneficial for many reasons. In most cases it will lower the dog’s aggression toward people and other dogs. When a dog is fixed, they often become more affectionate and calmer companions. Their aggression levels, if present, drop drastically. It will also decrease the need to spray or mark their territory. Spaying a female dog lowers the hormonal aggression, which helps eliminate the possessive or overly protective trait. Neutering a male dog keeps them by your side, literally. A male that is neutered is less inclined to roam away or to fight. If your dog is more likely to stick by you and obey your commands, the risk of dog bites or attacks is also lessened greatly. Statistically, unneutered dogs make up more than 70 percent of dog bites. The risk of biting is increased 2.6 times in unneutered dogs versus neutered. In fatal dog attacks in 2006, 97 percent of the dogs responsible were not spayed or neutered (Breed Specific Legislation, 2013). Having a dog fixed has also has great health benefits. Spaying/neutering will almost eliminate any reproductive cancers or illnesses (Sanborn, 2007). Lastly, because having a dog fixed can be costly it creates a sense of value to the owner (Spay and Neuter, 2012). How can BSL help better the community? The media coverage of these larger dogs instilled fear in a lot of communities when releasing dog bite or attack stories. If BSL is kept and expanded over more areas, the people within will ultimately feel safer. Restricting breeds means that the ones found will be euthanized. They also won’t be as available at rescues or pet stores, because breeding them will be illegal as well. This will result in the extinction of these dangerous dogs.

By removing these vicious breeds i.e. Pit Bulls, dangerous acts such as dog fighting and drug trafficking will lesson. Cmdr. Gerard Simon of Detroit says, “Drugs, gangs, dope, dogs…they all go together (Gibson, 2005).” Criminals are the culprits for creating, running, and attending these illegal dog fights. Pit Bulls are often the go-to breed because of their tenacity, build type, strength, and willingness to please. These illegal fights come with other illegal acts as well. The on lookers treat this as a “sport” similar to horse racing. The whole goal is to place bets on which dog will be victorious. The animals are trained to “kill” and to never stop until one of the two fighting is dead. The type of “blood sport” is very popular in the urban community. Bets are made using money, drugs, and weapons. Often, the winning pot can be worth tens of thousands of dollars. These types of events can bring danger into communities as well as drugs and guns. Besides harming animals, the people associated are also committing other crimes such as battery, drug dealing, drug consumption, and theft. By removing these vicious breeds, dog fighting and the crimes associated with dog fighting will lesson and hopefully cease (Gibson, 2005).

A crime is a crime no matter how you shake it. If a person wants to own a dog and use it for fighting but the dog is banned by BSL, do you really believe that dog fighting will stop? That answer is No! Let’s think about illegal guns for a moment. How often do we hear about assault rifles being found at crime scenes, or someone being killed by an assault rifle? The ban on assault rifles has been in place for almost twenty years and still there are crimes involving said rifles (Assault Rifle Ban 2013, 2013). Just because they have been made illegal, does not mean assault rifles are impossible to attain. The same will go for banned breeds. Illegal dogs will be brought in by criminals, breeding of these illegal animals will flourish and the dog fighting will continue at a rapid rate. We need to ban the act not the animal. The charges for dog fighting and other illegal acts associated with dog fighting should severe that it will cease on its own.

As seen, BSL has no real ground in any community. The cost to maintain these programs is astronomical. The basis of BSL is very discriminatory and for that reason doesn’t hold any water. The solutions and tools to eliminate ‘violent’ breeds are easy to enforce and very cost efficient for communities. Lastly, there is no real evidence that supports specific breeds being more dangerous than others. If people can become educated on these issues, than BSL will have no place in America.

References Page
Assault Weapons Ban of 2013. (2013) Retrieved from http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/assault-weapons-ban-summary
Breed-specific Legislation (BSL) FAQ. (2013) Retrieved from http://nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/dog-legislation/breed-specific-legislation-bsl-faq/
Breed Specific Legislation. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.everycreaturecounts.org/bsl.html
Breed specific legislation. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.aspca.org/fight-animal- cruelty/dog-fighting/breed-specific-legislation.aspx
Brokaw, J. (2012). 5 reasons to obey the leash law (yes, I’m talking to you). Retrieved from http://www.patheos.com/blogs/heavenlycreatures/2012/09/5-reasons-to-obey-the- leash-law-yes-im-talking-to-you/
Gibson, H. (2005). Dog Fighting Detailed Discussion. Retrieved from http://www.animallaw.info/articles/ddusdogfighting.htm#s43
Expense. (2012). Retrieved from http://stopbsl.org/bsloverview/expensive/
Kendrick, K. (2012). A brief history of "demon" dogs. Retrieved from http://www.dogbreedprejudice.info/
Pit Bull Education. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.therescuetrain.org/pit_bull_education.php
Phillip, A. (2012). Rescued Michael Vick Dogs Reunited 5 Years Later. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/11/five-years-rescued-vick-dogs-reunite/
Sanborn, L. (2007). Long-Term Health Risks and Benefits Associated with Spay/ Neuter in Dogs. Retrieved from www.2ndchance.info/cruciatelongtermneuter.htm
Spay and Neuter. (2012) Retrieved from http://stopbsl.org/alternatives-to-bsl/spay-and-neuter/
Weiss, L. (2001). Breed-Specific Legislation in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.animallaw.info/articles/aruslweiss2001.htm