Hi Y’all!
It’s going to be stormy again today.
Sigh. Can’t go hiking in a thunderstorm. So, now what?
So, on to todays featured news headlines!
BREED SPECIFIC LEGISLATION! or BSL or breed profiling.
Yes, we’ve reported on this before. Humans react negatively and pass laws prohibiting racial profiling, yet our government officials pass laws that condemn entire breeds!
Today I want to report again. Hero is fighting it in his neck of the woods, Caledonia, MN. But his is not the only place distraught over BSL. Maryland recently passed BSL legislation. Read this article at the “diary of a real veterinarian” to see how poorly informed politicians and the general public really are and how far we have to go to stop BSL!
To see the tragedy of this legislation inflicts on animals and people read my first Maryland Pit Bull Euthanasia. Sadly Pit Bulls are the most maligned breed. However, it isn’t the ONLY breed!
Go read about the Denver breed ban.
July 1, 2011 I wrote Do You Own a Golden or a Lab? This post was prompted by another vet many of y’all follow, Pawcurious. This article brought to our attention the fact that it isn’t just Pit Bulls, Dobermans, Rottweillers and German Shepherd dogs that are effected by breed discrimination. Some towns force owners to spay or neuter their pets or breeding stock of specific breeds. Some force owners to obtain insurance coverage if they own a “vicious breed”. Since there isn’t “vicious breed insurance”, owners must surrender their pets. Of course, if you don’t surrender your dog, the insurance company will cancel your policy or raise your rates so high you’ll be forced to do so. Some bans are weight restrictive. If your pet weighs over 100 lbs. like the Newfoundland, Irish Wolfhound, St. Bernard, Great Dane…it is banned.
Want to know what those banned breeds are?
List of 75 Banned or Restricted Dogs
1. AIREDALE TERRIER
2. AKBASH
3. AKITA
4. ALAPAHA BLUE BLOOD BULLDOG
5. ALASKAN MALAMUTE
6. ALSATIAN SHEPHERD
7. AMERICAN BULLDOG
8. AMERICAN HUSKY
9. AMERICAN PIT BULL TERRIER
10. AMERICAN STAFFORDSHIRE TERRIER
11. AMERICAN WOLFDOG
12. ANATOLIAN SHEPHERD
13. ARIKARA DOG
14. AUSTRALIAN CATTLE DOG
15. AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERD
16. BELGIAN MALINOIS
17. BELGIAN SHEEPDOG
18. BELGIAN TURVUREN
19. BLUE HEELER
20. BOERBUL
21. BORZOI
22. BOSTON TERRIER
23. BOUVIER DES FLANDRES
24. BOXER
25. BULLDOG
26. BULL TERRIER
27. BULL MASTIFF
28. CANE CORSO
29. CATAHOULA LEOPARD DOG
30. CAUCASIAN SHEPHERD
31. CHINESE SHAR PEI
32. CHOW-CHOW
33. COLORADO DOG
34. DOBERMAN PINSCHER
35. DOGO DE ARGENTINO
36. DOGUE DE BORDEAUX
37. ENGLISH MASTIFFS
38. ENGLISH SPRINGER SPANIEL
39. ESKIMO DOG
40. ESTRELA MOUNTAIN DOG
41. FILA BRASILIERO
42. FOX TERRIER
43. FRENCH BULLDOG
44. GERMAN SHEPHERD DOG
45. GOLDEN RETRIEVER **
46. GREENLAND HUSKY
47. GREAT DANE
48. GREAT PYRANEES
49. ITALIAN MASTIFF
50. KANGAL DOG
51. KEESHOND
52. KOMONDOR
53. KOTEZEBUE HUSKY
54. KUVAZ
55. LABRADOR RETRIEVER **
56. LEONBERGER
57. MASTIFF
58. NEOPOLITAN MASTIFF
59. NEWFOUNDLAND
60. OTTERHOUND
61. PRESA DE CANARIO
62. PRESA DE MALLORQUIN
63. PUG *
64. ROTTWEILER
65. SAARLOOS WOLFHOND
66. SAINT BERNARD
67. SAMOYED
68. SCOTTISH DEERHOUND
69. SIBERIAN HUSKY
70. SPANISH MASTIFF
71. STAFFORDSHIRE BULL TERRIER
72. TIMBER SHEPHERD
73. TOSA INU
74. TUNDRA SHEPHERD
75. WOLF SPITZ
** The Labrador and Golden are two breeds selected for their great temperament to train and use as service dogs.
* What about the little Pug? When I saw the Pug I had to look twice to be sure the Poodle wasn’t on the list!
When it comes to dogs, humans tend to ban the breed rather than punish the owner. Removing the individual problem dog and penalizing the owner should be how the problem is addressed.
Pawcurious points out that cities who have enacted breed bans have not shown any decrease in animal bites. As she points out…breed bans DO NOT WORK!
Here is the link to the ASPCA dangerous dog/ reckless owner law that is NOT breed specific. It includes ways to enforce responsible pet ownership. The ASPCA feels that the pet’s guardian should be held accountable for not properly supervising the pet or other actions that result in negative animal behavior.
I hope y’all will become better acquainted with the problem of BSL or breed specific legislation and we can all try to address the problem by educating others, including our politicians to ban the deed and irresponsible ownership rather than an entire breed.
Y’all come back now!
I am right there with ya brother Hawk. MOM and I get so mad about this. But MOM also speaks out about it as well. Just last summer she spoke up at our city council meeting when they wanted to ban Pit Bulls. That was tabled to be revised and then it was revised to say "viscous" dogs. Which included if a a dog barked at people passing by and they complained then they were tag as be viscous. And they wanted to add if your dog is deemed viscous then you had to have insurance. My MOM still fights for us dogs whenever she can.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Goose
Great - and important - post!
ReplyDeleteHawk I can't believe the 75 list, what a load of old @'###!!! Great post , it's always the owner that is at fault never the dog. Cheers!
ReplyDeletebest wishes Molly
Great post, Hawk! Maybe we should all "ban" together and pick a day to have everyone do a "Ban the Bans" blog post! We could do it on our blogs and humans that don't have blogs could do it on their Facebook pages...maybe we could get a little media coverage if enough of us did it at the same time!
ReplyDeleteHugs to you and your Mom for fighting the good fight!
Proud to be your Pal,
HERO
You've written a really good post that is informative and alarming. I admire, respect and support those in the trenches who are working to educate the general public and defend those who cannot defend themselves!
ReplyDeleteYou may know that I've worked with the Golden Retriever Rescue here in VA since 1999, and served for 4 years as its president. In that time I can honestly say that I've seen (and fostered) Golden Retrievers that were more 'reactive' than almost all of the Pit Bulls I've met.
When are humans ever going to learn that there is no such thing as a bad dog? There are only bad owners!
ReplyDeleteYou look awfully fuzzy in your first picture! :)
ReplyDeleteHawk...great post. So wrong. I like what Alison said above. The humans just don't understand.
ReplyDeleteExcellent Post and a lot of research involved. Thank you for taking the time to do this.
ReplyDeleteMy Vickie says maybe the humans should ban themselves first before they go after dogs. So lets see....some serial killers are known to have tatoos so lets put all people with tattos of any kind in prison. Some people have used a gun to hurt or kill others, so lets put all gun owners in prison. some older people drive on the side of the road and go slow, so lets ban all people over 70 from driving.
Yep. that should do it. they will be so busy fighting among themselves about who should go to jail because they have a tatoo, gun or are old, they will forget about a few dogs who bit someone cause their human was an idiot.
Mmmmm Was that a bit harsh? Sorry, sometimes My vickie gets a little hot under the collar.
Bert
Wonderful post! To be honest I never knew the list was so long and that my breed was on it. I am a firm believer that the actions of a dog should fall on the owners shoulder, in most cases. Taking responsibility is what it is all about and law makers really need to open up their eyes on this!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much very bringing this important issue to my attention and keep spreading the word! You educated at least one more person, me, with this post!
Good post. Government should not be involved in regulating pets or breeding, whether it be BSL, hobby breeders, pet stores, or dare I say it..."puppy mills".
ReplyDeleteI am curious about the list you posted though. It appears to be a compilation list including proposed bans, but not all enacted. I would like to see the list of those breeds which are actually banned. Proposing and enacting are two different things in my mind. (Politicians propose all kinds of stupid legislation and regulations and fortunately most never make it into force.)
Craziness! :(
ReplyDeleteIve seen that pug thing too and I cant believe it so odd. All BSL is patently ridiculous
ReplyDeleteurban hounds
Thank you so very much for writing this post, Hawk. It's important information--and you're so right about how wildly uninformed the majority of legislators are. Frustrating!
ReplyDeleteAlthough not every dog on that list is actually the victim of BSL, I have absolutely heard of them being considered as part of the bully breeds. I cannot, for the life of me, understand any of it. :-(