This’s often completed in an effort to avoid vicious dog attacks. – Dr. Kristopher Irizarry in his report for Nicholas Criscuolo v. Grant County. It is worth noting that in some areas, regulated breeds include a whole range of breeds: You read that right: Those who simply resemble these breeds. Breed Specific Legislation and discrimination in general are not justifiable. Many owners of dangerous breeds do not have sufficient insurance policies or any coverage at all. The University of Denver and Institute for Human-Animal Connection examined how the City and County of Denver's Breed-Specific Legislation (BSL) ordinance, Section 8-55, introduced in 1989, has impacted the economic and social systems of the Denver community. Rather than pass laws that punish innocent pets for being born a certain breed and their responsible owners, our communities should have breed-neutral comprehensive dog laws that hold negligent or reckless owners accountable for their dogs and situations that are actually dangerous.5, Good Dog Advocacy | Changing minds through positivity & advocacy, “The Fiscal Impact of Breed Discriminatory Legislation in the United States”, Best Friends Animal Society: Breed-Discriminatory Legislation: An Ineffective Response to Negligent or Reckless Owners, AVSAB’s Position Statement on Breed-specific Legislation (PDF), BSL Fiscal Impact Calculator (Best Friends), ASPCA: Position Statement on Breed-Specific Legislation, BSL Talking Points (Animal Farm Foundation), Any Dog Can Bite. Proponents of breed-specific laws seek to limit public exposure to well-documented dangerous dog breeds by regulating the ownership of them. BSL is a misnomer in that BSL laws are anything but specific. Some feel that banning a breed is like human racial discrimination. Apr 25, 2016 - Explore Melissa Ashley's board "Breed Specific Legislation", followed by 156 people on Pinterest. As a court-designated expert on aggressive dog behaviour, I can tell you that any dog of any breed can become aggressive and bite someone if he/she is not trained, handled, and cared for appropriately. Breed bans may have grandfather clauses that allow dogs of targeted breeds to stay in the ban area (provided they are registered with the municipality by a certain date, and likely subject to various breed-specific restrictions). Everyone benefits from safe communities — both people and pets. So, as a response to the impact of the pandemic, we've augmented and expanded... Don't be So Quick to Celebratethe "Win" in Denver12November 2020If you read only the headlines about Denver on November 4, you might think that the city's dog owners were finally victorious. Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) Addresses a minority of potentially dangerous dogs Used by less than 4% of Cities & Towns Limited: Addresses a limited number of … It does not take into account the dog’s actual behavior. Potential Benefits of Laws that Target Specific Dog Breeds. Breed specific legislation targets pit bulls based on misconceptions, appearance, and poor knowledge about the breed. The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) published a position paper in September 2014 that supports the use of appropriate legislation regarding dangerous dogs as long as it is education-based and not breed-specific. The AVSAB’s position is that such legisla-tion—often called breed-specific legislation It draws from a retrospective review of anecdotal evidence based on questionable phenotypic and genotypic identifications (not double-blind, randomized trials that follow breed confirmed dogs till the triggering event, while controlling for confounding variables).”, – Adam Karp, Down to a Science:  Combating Breed Discriminatory Litigation with Frye, Daubert, and Rule 702, “Regardless of whether someone inaccurately believes that a specific breed has a certain behavior or “dangerousness,” a dog with moderate or minor/trace amounts of that breed has the majority of its genome derived from breeds other than the breed in question. info@animalfarmfoundation.org. As a result, certain dog breeds are highlighted as being dangerous because of how they look, rather than act. “There is widespread criticism of a breed specific approach for protecting public safety.”, “It has not reduced dog bites as it was designed to do l breed is not an appropriate criterion on which to assess a dog’s risk to people; aggression is a complex behaviour.”, “The process of handling dogs under the law is compromising welfare.”, “It is requiring welfare charities and police to put to sleep dogs based on their appearance, not temperament.”. Truth Behind Dogs In The Media. However, the problem of dangerous dogs will not be remedied by the “quick fix” of breed-specific laws—or, as they should truly be called, breed-discriminatory laws.1. RSPCA’s Breed-Specific Legislation Report, Dog Advocates Shouldn’t Be So Quick to Celebrate the “Win” in Denver, Mandatory microchipping or tattoos owner/walker age requirements, Breed specific pet limits sale or transfer notification requirements, Restrictions on access to certain public spaces with the dog [e.g. Keywords: Breed Specific Legislation, moral panic, pit bull, dangerous dogs, dog control . As an organization, we have long since understood that companion animal welfare without human welfare means nothing. Breed-specific legislation is not about dogs at all. For updates on dogs, people, and ending discrimination, subscribe to our newsletter. If you just clicked and shared the revised language, you missed some... From the National Canine Research Council. 4Dog bite data varies greatly; not all bites are reported, and those reported aren’t always documented into databases. Let your legislators know that you oppose pit bull bans, which force responsible pit bull owners to hide their dogs or surrender them to shelters where they are likely to be destroyed. Sometimes this discrimination is against the houseless, sometimes people of lesser means, sometimes it’s about ableism, denying people with disabilities access, and other times it’s about racial profiling and stereotypes. Sometimes this discrimination is against the houseless, sometimes people of lesser means, sometimes it’s about ableism, denying people with disabilities access, and other times it’s about racial profiling and stereotypes. Breed-Specific Legislation 0:47. ____________________________________________________________________, 1ASPCA – Breed Specific Legislation Breed specific legislation prohibits or restricts the harbouring of presumed specific dog breeds, including mixes. Regulated breeds typically comprise the “pit bull” class of dogs, including American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers and English Bull Terriers. “Currently, breed specific legislation means that a well-adjusted, well-behaved, much-loved family pet which has never shown any signs of aggression can be torn from his home and everything he knows and could face being put to sleep simply for looking a certain way. Get Your Custom Essay on. It is discrimination against people. Some city/municipal governments have enacted breed-specific laws, as has the State of Ohio. Breed specific legislation usually targets dogs of larger stature, muscular build, and other physical characteristics that are generally associated with aggression. According to ASPCA, “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.”. Here are some suggested alternatives from America Against BSL: For help in drafting animal control laws, contact the ASPCA’s Government Relations department at lobby@aspca.org. 845.868.7559 5Best Friends Animal Society: Breed-Discriminatory Legislation: An Ineffective Response to Negligent or Reckless Owners. There is no such problem, they say. Don't use plagiarized sources. In some areas, regulated breeds also include a variety of other dogs like American Bulldogs, Rottweilers, Mastiffs, Dalmatians, Chow Chows, German Shepherds, Doberman Pinschers or any mix of these breeds—and dogs who simply resemble these … It is not rational or scientifically valid to assume that a dog can be defined as dangerous by virtue of having “any element” of a particular breed.”. Breed-specific Legislation The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) is concerned about the propensity of various communities’ reliance on breed-specific legislation as a tool to decrease the risk and incidence of dog bites to humans. Breed specific legislation rips dogs away from responsible pet owners and drives irresponsible owners further underground. Learn more about the legislation that could be affecting your ownership rights. The Amendment Of Animal Control Laws On Pit Bull Ban 1324 Words | 6 Pages. This year has been difficult for everyone and insurmountable to others. Breed-specific legislation opponents argue that a regulation or ban targeting only one or a few breeds violates owners' constitutional right to equal protection of the laws because the regulation unfairly singles out owners of a particular breed of dog. And we have a responsibility to keep our communities protected from any dangerous dogs and their negligent or reckless owners. This can also mean mandatory spay/neuter to certain breeds as well. Legislation based entirely on breed is actually debatable and varies tremendously from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Breed Specific Legislation are actually laws governing ownership, insurance needs, and housing or maybe rental restrictions placed on particular animals based upon breed look. Breed-Specific Legislation FAQ from the National Canine Research Council. Which seems unfair, to put it mildly, because as a result, dogs have lost their lives solely because of their looks. Breed specific legislation is active in certain countries across the world, the UK being one. Body I. Breed Specific Legislation, or BSL, is a set of public policy laws designed to reduce the amount of dog bite-related injury and death. Breed-specific legislation (BSL) is a law or ordinance that regulates or completely bans the keeping of dogs of or presumed to be specific breeds, dogs presumed to be specific breeds and/or dogs which are or presumed to be mixes of one or more of those breeds. . Such laws range from outright bans on the possession of these dogs, to restrictions and conditions on ownership, and often establishes a legal presumption that such dogs are dangerous or vicious. They feel that the statistics compiled on dog attacks are inaccurate, and that the press has created the false impression that there is a dog bite problem in the USA. However, the problem of dangerous dogs will not be remedied by the "quick fix" of breed-specific laws, or, as they should truly be called, breed-discriminatory laws. Some say, "do nothing at all." If you look at the list of countries, breeds and various legislation recorded in Wikipedia: Breed-Specific Legislation, it’ll make your head spin. In addition to pit bulls, BSL commonly outlaws Rottweilers, Akitas, Mastiffs, Dobermans, Presa Canarios, Dogo Argentinos, and even more traditionally family friendly breeds like Dalmatians and Chow Chows. They feel that dogs attack people who deserve it for one reason or another. Chihuahua 1. They point specifically to pit bull dog bite statistics. On the bright side, many states (including New York, Texas and Illinois) favor laws that identify, track and regulate dangerous dogs individually, regardless of breed, and prohibit BSL. Pekinese 3. In extreme situations, breed specific legislation can even lead to dogs, even the friendly well-trained ones, being “put down” even though they haven’t done anything wrong/harmful. BSL Leaflet FULL by Animal Farm Foundation, “BSL suffers from the fundamental, flawed presumption that breed reliably predicts vicious propensity. Some city/municipal governments have enacted breed-specific laws (view the comprehensive BSL map). It’s primarily a people problem, not a dog problem. From Stop BSL: A breed ban usually requires that all dogs of a certain appearance (“targeted breed”) be removed from the municipality wherein the ban has been implemented. A long list of organizations that do not support breed-specific legislation. : public parks, school grounds], Required town-issued items [e.g. The regulations typically include sterilization or banning of the animals from a particular neighborhood, according to DogsBite.org, a non-profit education website. .] 2Best Friends Animal Society, “The Fiscal Impact of Breed Discriminatory Legislation in the United States” (PDF) – April 2012 In conclusion, BSL is an ineffective response to negligent or reckless owners. They point to statistics which indicate that certain breeds of dogs are involved more often in fatal attacks than other canines. ), Keep the dog on a leash of specific length or material, Purchase liability insurance of a certain amount, Place “vicious dog” signs on the outside of the residence where the dog lives, Make the dog wear a “vicious dog” tag or other identifying marker. Ending Breed-specific Legislation. Breed-specific legislation recognizes the cost and severity of victims' injuries and the difficulties of receiving compensation after a serious attack. Breed-specific legislation refers to government regulations pertaining to a specific breed — most often being American pit bull terrier, American Staffordshire terrier and Staffordshire bull terrier. Breed-specific legislation (BSL) is a type of law that prohibits or restricts particular breeds or types of dog. BSL targets dogs of a certain appearance and does not take into account how the owner has trained or managed the dog. There are two forms of BSL: bans and restrictions. Jack Russell Terrier 2. It’s called Breed Specific Legislation, or BBS for short, and its sole purpose is to remove and euthanize dogs from American homes that are considered dangerous. The CDC cited, among other problems, the inaccuracy of dog bite data4 and the difficulty in identifying dog breeds (especially true of mixed-breed dogs). Proactive breed-specific laws require owners of these breeds to carry liability insurance in the baseline amount of $100,000 or the So if your dog looks like one, you should be worried. -breed specific legislation is harmful to the people because it increases the fear of that breed and the stigma that the breed carries and the majority of the time, that's all it is: a stigma. Breed-specific legislation (BSL) is a law or ordinance that regulates or completely bans the keeping of dogs of or presumed to be specific breeds, dogs presumed to be specific breeds and/or dogs which are or presumed to be mixes of one or more of those breeds. : fluorescent collar; vest], Requirement that photos of the dog and/or owner be kept on town file. Information on what BSL is and how it affects dogs and people. By far, the most common breeds focused upon are the 'pit bull' type breeds. Breed-specific legislation (BSL) is usually a law or ordinance pertaining to a specific breed of dogs such as pit-bull type dogs.7 There are two general forms of BSL: specific restrictions and outright bans.9 Past evaluations of different forms of regulations have led to conclusions that BSL is ineffective in reducing dog-bite injuries of varying severities.10–14 However, methodological shortcomings such as … The costs of enforcing BSL include but are not limited to:2. It is defined as any ordinance or policy that pertains to a specific dog breed or several breeds, but does not affect any others. Breed-specific Legislation videos and latest news articles; GlobalNews.ca your source for the latest news on Breed-specific Legislation . (2005) Breed specific legislation: considerations for evaluating its effectiveness and recommendations for alternatives. These last two concerns are well-founded, given that: Recognizing that the problem of dangerous dogs requires serious attention, the ASPCA seeks effective enforcement of breed-neutral laws that hold dog owners accountable for the actions of their animals. "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. Proceedings of the UFAW International Animal Welfare Symposium. 3American Bar Association’s Resolution 100 (PDF) – August 2012 Research about why it is ineffective and difficult to enforce. Research benefits include an analysis of the BSL debate, an exploration of the opinions of major stakeholders, an examination of alternative methods of animal control and a call for evidence-based policy. “The RSPCA is calling on the Government to launch a public inquiry into breed specific legislation. It refers to laws that ban or restrict certain types of dogs based simply on their appearance, usually because they are perceived as dangerous. “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. Expenses related to euthanasia and carcass disposal. Here’s How You Can Prevent It, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License, Canary Dog (Canary Island Dog, Presa Canario, Perro De Presa Canario), Presa Mallorquin (Perro de Presa Mallorquin, Ca De Bou), Tosa Inu (Tosa Fighting Dog, Japanese Fighting Dog, Japanese Mastiff), Cane Corso (Cane Di Macellaio, Sicilian Branchiero), Any mix of these breeds—and dogs who simply resemble these breeds, Contain the dog in a kennel with specific requirements (6′ chain link walls, lid, concrete floors, etc. This Social-Environmental-Economic Impact Assessment (SEEIA) examines how the City and County of Denver’s Breed-Specific Legislation (BSL) policy has impacted the economic and social systems of the Denver community. Taking a person’s pet away without fair enforcement procedures is a violation of a dog owner’s civil rights. Additional costs depending on current resources available to a specific community’s animal control program may include: To calculate what BSL will cost you if one is enacted in your city, state, On August 6, 2012, the American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates approved Resolution 100, urging “all state, territorial, and local legislative bodies and governmental agencies [. ... (2011) Dog identification: compliance, views and benefits of microchipping. ©2020 Animal Farm Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved P.O. Breed-specific legislation is not about dogs at all. 2016 Letter from Thomas M. Susman, Director of Governmental Affairs for the American Bar Association to officials in Quebec. Lawmakers attempt to confront this problem by examining the statistics surrounding dog bites and legislating against certain breeds. BBS does not work, and should not be considered because breed identification the cost to enforce breed specific legislation is high. Box 624 Responsible dog ownership and public education must be a primary focus of any dog bite prevention policy. Around the world, governments are recognizing the inherent problems with BSL and revising their dangerous dog policies. It is discrimination against people. Dauchshunshusns (you know what breed i'm talking about). In June 2009, the Dutch government announced its intent to remove its “pitbull” ban after determining that it did not decrease dog bites or improve safety in the Netherlands. The number one cause of aggressive dog behaviour is irresponsible ownerbehaviour, not breed specific dog behaviour. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my committee members, Dr. Gail Anderson and Professor … BSL stands for breed-specific legislation. Litigation costs from residents appealing or contesting the law, and; Capital costs associated with increased shelter space needed. And we’ll be back at square one, with probably worse outcome. What Are the Alternatives? 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