I am sick of people defending these animals. SICK OF IT.
They are dangerous, not because someone made them dangerous but because of their BREED.
Sadly it seems these dogs attract a certain kind of owner. Dog fighters, drug addicts or someone with something to prove. Someone who wants to look "bad and dangerous". They seem to attract those who should not ever have a pet let alone one who is aggressive.
(Ok, before someone goes insane thinking I am bashing them) NO, not all pit owners are like that but a majority are.
Pixies, then how do you explain the results in Denmark? The Danish government banned Pit Bulls and made extensive efforts to confiscate and euthanise them.
After a brief dip in the number of bite cases, the number of bites went right back up to former levels. Turns out that if you ban Pit Bulls, the people who owned the ones that were problems go out, get a different breed of dog and get the same results.
That says to me very clearly that the problem is the
owners, not the breed of dog.
I certainly agree that not everyone who owns a dog in this country should own a pet! I just don't want to take away everyone's Pit Bulls because a minority of the owners are irresponsible idjits. I know way too many wonderful, sweet and not at all aggressive Pit Bulls to want the breed to disappear.
There's lots of evidence showing that laws other than breed bans are more effective in lowering the number of bites in a community. The law that makes the most difference is already on the books in many communities: leash laws. In communities where leash laws are aggressively enforced, the number of bites goes way down.
Why? It seems that people who own dogs likely to bite are also lazy owners. Force them to keep their dogs on leash or pay hefty fines, they give up dog ownership.
The next most effective law is a requirement that dogs that are tied out have to have an adult supervising them continuously. Aggressively enforced, again it turns out that people who own dogs that bite are lazy owners. If they can't tie their dog out for hours on end without supervision, they give up on dog ownership.
Providing an incentive for responsible pet ownership in the form of offering a modest discount for a dog license for each dog that goes through an obedience class is a new idea that hasn't been around long enough to see if it makes a difference. Trainers in towns that offer such a discount report that the number of dog owners in their classes goes up, though.
Aggressively enforce both of those laws and offer a modest discount (as little as $5 and a different colour of tag seems to work) and the rate of bites would probably go way, way down. And the people who own Pit Bulls who are not a problem (the vast majority of Pit Bulls and their owners) would not be penalised for the deeds of the few.
