Breed Specific Legislation Elimination

Everyday in America the war is being waged on "pit bulls" in the form of Breed Specific Legislation. Groups like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Best Friends are using their political and public influence to systematically outlaw and eliminate dog breeds in cities and counties across the country.

Some wars are won and some lost. But, there are a few things that every "pit bull" owner, breeder and advocate need to know in order to stand a chance in their community.

This edition of United We Bark will cover the reasons behind BSL. Stay tuned for future editions covering how to fight bsl and who you can trust in the Animal "welfare" community.

BSL is presented to the public as a means for controlling dangerous dogs and curbing dog bites in the community. However, any one who researches the subject can see that the actual danger from "pit bull" dogs is wildly overstated and BSL does not successfully address the problems which cause dog bites in the community.

Neither the CDC, AVMA or AKC acknowledge breed specific legislation as a means to effectively reducing dog bites in communities. Dog Bite Prevention week is sponsored each year by the CDC, AVMA and USPS. They collectively reject BSL and recommend other means of control and prevention.

As outlined in A Community Approach to Dog Bite Prevention The AVMA's Task Force on Canine Aggression and Human-Canine Interactions states:

"Concerns about “dangerous” dogs have caused many local governments to consider supplementing existing animal control laws with ordinances directed toward control of specific breeds or types of dogs. Members of the Task Force believe such ordinances are inappropriate and ineffective."

". . . a dog’s tendency to bite depends on at least 5 interacting factors: heredity, early experience, later socialization and training, health (medical and behavioral), and victim behavior."

"Breed-specific ordinances, however, raise constitutional questions concerning dog owners’ fourteenth amendment rights of due process and equal protection. When a specific breed of dog is selected for control, 2 constitutional questions are raised: first, because all types of dogs may inflict injury to people and property, ordinances addressing only 1 breed of dog appear to be underinclusive and, therefore, violate owners’ equal protection rights; and second, because identification of a dog’s breed with the certainty necessary to impose sanctions on the dog’s owner is impossible, such ordinances have been considered unconstitutionally vague and, therefore, to violate due process."

What the Animal Rights community hopes to gain from BSL:

• Allowing Warrantless Search and Seizure
  
  “if pit bulls were illegal to possess, law enforcement officials could obtain search warrants where pit bulls are discovered and during such a search, additional evidence of their dog fighting could be discovered and seized for felony prosecutions”.
  - Kory Nelson, City Attorney, Denver, Colorado
  
  This can be said for anything "discovered" on your property at the time that a warrant for your "pit bull" is being executed, even things that are not in plain view.
  
  
• Gaining Police powers and forfeiture of assets for "private charities"
  
  Senate Bill 1775 by Sen. Ron Calderon, D-Montebello, would allow the forfeiture of property used for dogfighting.
  
  
• By-pass Due Process
  
  In the case of BSL dogs are confiscated and killed often without allowing a trial or opposition from the dog owner. Most Breed Specific laws actually have written in clauses which eliminate the right of due process.
  
  
• Making formerly responsible and law abiding dog owners into a new class of criminals
  
  The Humane Society of the United States has been painting "pit bull" owners as criminals, gang members and dog fighters for years. Now, with the use of BSL they are making law abiding citizens into criminals by outlawing their beloved pets. The choice of dog lovers becomes: Abide by the law and kill your dog OR Break the law and hide/relocate your dog.
  
  

  From the HSUS Website:
  How to Spot Signs of Dogfighting in Your Community (comments in red)
  

• An inordinate number of pit bulls being kept in one location, especially multiple dogs who are chained and seem unsocialized. This could include rescue organizations, responsible dog breeders and other people. The perception of a dog "seeming unsocialized" is left to the person to determine without having met the dog or conversed with the dog owner.
• Dogs with scars on their faces, front legs and stifle area (hind end and thighs). Also could include dogs at a rescue, being fostered for an adoption agency, or dogs with pre-existing conditions which have caused excess scratching in the past.
• Dogfighting training equipment such as
  • treadmills used to build dogs' endurance Responsible dog breeders of many breeds use treadmills to ensure that their dogs receive healthy exercise as recommended by veterinarians to maintain healthy weight which was proven to help dogs lead a healthy life by the Purina Life Span Study. You can see on the AVMA website a study in which veterinarians utilized specialized treadmills for dogs in a study on obesity.
    
  
  
  • "break sticks" used to pry apart the jaws of dogs locked in battle Responsible dog owners of the Bully breeds should own and carry a break stick in case of unintentional altercations between their dogs and unfamiliar animals. In the event an incident does occur the break stick is the fastest and safest way (for both animals involved) to separate the dogs.
  • tires or "springpoles" (usually a large spring with rope attached to either end) hanging from tree limbs Police K9 units and responsible dog owners who participate in Schutzhund competitions with their dogs can both benefit from the jaw strengthening safe play which is provided by a spring pole.
• Unusual foot traffic coming and going from a location at odd hours. This could apply to rescue organizations, home based veterinarians, dog breeders who sell puppies, any person who happens to have friends.

• The addition of more and more breeds to the dangerous dog list, thereby effectively eliminating dog ownership in America over a period of many years. Currently 75 breeds have been targeted by the Animal Rights advocates to be restricted and/or banned somewhere in the United States. It is only a matter of time until they petition Congress and WIN to outlaw these breeds and more in the United States as a whole.
  
  
  PETA in particular is not shy about their hatred for "pets" in America;
  ". . . we believe that it would have been in the animals' best interests if the institution of "pet keeping"—i.e., breeding animals to be kept and regarded as "pets"—never existed. The international pastime of domesticating animals has created an overpopulation crisis; as a result, millions of unwanted animals are destroyed every year as "surplus." This selfish desire to possess animals and receive love from them causes immeasurable suffering. . ."
  
  ". . . many kind individuals fall prey to the picket-fence appeal of so-called "responsible" breeders and fail to recognize that no matter how kindly a breeder treats his or her animals, as long as dogs and cats are dying in animal shelters and pounds because of a lack of homes, no breeding can be considered "responsible."


All of this moral browbeating, meanwhile. . .

"People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a group that complains bitterly when animals die accidentally in horse races or intentionally in slaughterhouses, killed more than 90 percent of the adoptable animals in its care during 2007."

"In comparison, the Virginia Beach SPCA, right down the road from PETA’s Norfolk headquarters, managed to adopt out almost 70% of the animals in its care last year. And it did it on a relative shoestring budget."
Reported by Peta Kills Animals as of 10/3/08

Not to mention that the realistic basis for what PETA calls a pet overpopulation crisis has been vehemently disproved by Nathan Winograd's Redemption a book praised and renowned for it's honest portrayal of the broken Animal Control system in America which advocates killing instead of adopting for millions of healthy and wanted pets each year.

"Redemption is a passionate advocacy for ending the killing of homeless dogs and cats in shelters. Telling the story of how the movement of animal sheltering in the United States was born of compassion and lost its way... Redemption offers hope that America can yet change its ways. Highly recommended. – Midwest Book Reviews, midwestbookreview.com.

"[T]he most provocative and best-informed overview of animal sheltering ever written." – Merritt Clifton, Animal People. (To read the entire review, click here.)

"An important work... The world owes much to those rare individuals who see things differently - and who then devote themselves to vindicating their maverick conclusions." – The Bark, thebark.com. (To read the entire review, click here.)

"[An] excellent, empowering new book." – Julia Szabo, Fetchdog.com, New York Post Pet Writer. (To read the entire review, click here.)

"One of the most important books you’ll read this year."– Beth Flor, Pajiba.com

Winograd's book tells how successful the no kill shelter movement can be in America, preventing scenes like this from happening. PETA calls no kill shelters "less than ideal." They claim No Kill Shelter systems can not work. Meanwhile, Winograd "presided over America’s two most successful experiments in what’s become known as the “No-Kill” animal shelter movement.

At SPCAs in San Francisco and Tompkins County, New York, Winograd showed that No-Kill animal sheltering -- the brand of hands-on animal care that deep-pocketed animal “rights” groups like PETA and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) ironically oppose -- can work." - Center for Consumer Freedom

In an interview with the Center for Consumer Freedom Winograd answers some tough questions about Redemption which may help you understand why you should READ THIS BOOK.

All in all,through research into the subject, it becomes painfully obvious that Animal Rights groups who advocate, or even just help along, breed specific measures in cities and counties around the country are not doing it to stop dog bites in those communities. Breed bans DO NOT stop or reduce the overall number of dog bites in a community.

Dog bites are caused by irresponsible ownership and lack of enforcement of existing fair laws in communities. Every American city needs to employ Responsible Dog Ownership Laws as opposed to BSL, like those suggested by Responsible Dog Owners of the Western States. If they did I guarantee a drop in dog bites, prolonged animal cruelty and reoffenders in communities around the country.

It also becomes obvious, if you follow the spread of BSL through the country and the world for a short time, how much of a real problem this is. BSL is becoming a pandemic and rapidly spreading. Without the committed involvement of every dog owner in America I fear myself and all dogs like me will soon be near extinction in America and around the world.

Responsible Dog Owners Unite. . .

I am writing this blog as a means to reach responsible dog owners across the country. Why? Because, there are more of you than the HSUS and PETA want to admit and you need a platform for making yourselves known. Every day so called "dangerous dog laws" are stripping away your rights across the country and criminalizing you.

It is time to stand up and make a change! You need to tell America that you beloved pups are here to stay and no combination of mandatory spay/neuter, anti- tethering or breed ban laws will make us leave!

I hope that you will subscribe to this blog and tell your friends about it because there is revolution coming and I would like you and every other dog owner in America to be part of it!