On September 27th, the city council of Montreal passed (37-23) a new by-law that will ban pit bulls and pit bull-type breeds. This by-law was made effective just four months after a Montreal woman was killed by what the police claimed to be a “pit bull looking” dog. DNA tests were not released.
Montreal has banned the acquisition of pit bull type dogs and will be forcing current owners of these dogs to follow strict regulations. These regulations include purchasing a special permit, keeping the dog muzzled at all times in public, and passing a criminal background check.
The news of BSL in Montreal has left me feeling an array of emotions, from confusion, disappointment, frustration, and embarrassment toward my newfound home. I choose to attend veterinary school in Canada after learning about their progressive views and extensive research in regard to animal welfare.
BSL is not formed based on proven research but instead anecdotal evidence and fear. I’m a firm believer that discrimination has no place in civilized society. No animal or human should face this type of injustice purely based on their appearance, with no regard to their individual character.
Here are just a few of the reasons why this by-law is unethical and not based on factual evidence:
- BSL doesn’t work: The Toronto Humane Society performed a survey in 2010 and found that there was no reduction in the amount dog bites since BSL was passed in Ontario. They also found that jurisdictions with BSL had similar dog bite statistics as those without.
- Education is more effective: Calgary has seen a huge overall reduction in dog bites over the past 20 years. The city does not support BSL, but instead has implemented strong licensing and invested in public education regarding dog bite safety.
- Enforcement is based on appearance, not genetics: The ban discriminates against any dog that has pit bull-like characteristics. This was described as a big head and thick neck. These criteria are ambiguous and punish dogs based on their appearance. Genetic testing is not required, which can result in many dogs being mistaken labeled as pit bulls. Owners also have no way to refute claims against their dogs.
- Aggression is multi-factorial – not just genetic: Aggressive behavior is a result of many different environmental factors including lack of socialization/training, inadequate exercise, lack of necessary mental stimulation, health conditions, reproductive status, poor breeding, and previous mistreatment. For these reasons, you cannot make the blanket statement that a breed is aggressive.
- Holding animals accountable instead of irresponsible owners: I am a firm believer that a dog’s behavior is a by-product of the human that owns it. It is the responsibility of the dog owner to ensure that their dog is well behaved, well socialized, and under control. Owners need to be held accountable for unruly dogs and fines should be implemented for those who have not attempted to manage their dangerous dog. Don’t punish a dog for the negligence of its owner.
Luckily, there is still hope. The Quebec Superior Court has suspended the ban until further notice, but the fight is not over yet.
Sources:
http://www.torontohumanesociety.com/pdfs/Breed_Specific_Legislation_Jan-14.pdf
I do not get how people can overlook the serious nature of these pit bull dogs and pit bull mixes. They have the highest bite and fatality count of all breeds. Even there owners have to use caution with them. I hope every country adopts laws concerning this breed. The United States has been talking for years about pushing through laws concerning this breed. But they are still weak laws. They do make the owners accountable but barely. This breed is basically bred to fight, kill, injure. Too many people I have read about who have been fatally attacked or seriously injured to overlook this.l Sorry pit bull owners/lovers. This is the truth. Read the statistics. Education of owners is the first step if you want to own this bred, then it is a shaky chance. Love dogs but not this breed.
BSL does work. Obviously a law that targets pit bulls won’t affect other breeds. Although Toronto bites went up during a certain period, pit bull bites went down. Looking at bites is different than looking at serious maulings, but serious maulings is a large subset of pit bull bites. When pit bull bites go down, serious maulings are also going down, too, and that is the goal of pit bull bans. If bites by other breeds are going up, that means that the breed neutral laws are not being enforced because we know that both breed neutral and breed specific laws work when enforced. Pit bull bans and breed neutral laws must work together to bring down all bites. Look at Pawtucket RI for an excellent example of the effectiveness of a pit bull ban working in conjunction with rigorous enforcement of all dog safety laws to make people safer.
A 2013 peer-reviewed Canadian study showed that education programs had zero effect on bite rates. And it has been reported Calgary has had a horrible problem with a spike in unprovoked attacks by large dogs.
Enforcement is based on physical appearance of dogs looking at unique features that directly enable pit bulls to launch extremely vicious and damaging and fatal attacks, an oversized head and neck and jaws due to oversized musculature.
When the majority of serious attacks are the result of one kind of dog that represents 7% of the dog population. This has been documented by many studies on dog bites that require hospitalization. Every region of the US is reporting that pit bulls are the leading breed responsible for severe and fatal attacks.
Here is what veterinary professionals can do if they want to speak out against BSL and for pit bulls as pets – they can share their records because they are sitting on a goldmine of data that would show whether keeping pit bulls is humane to other pet animals. They can share how many victims of of dog attacks they have either sewn up or put down each month. They can share what percentage of those victims were mauled by pit bulls. They can share how much money they rake in sewing up and putting down dog attack victims & share the percentage of that income that results from pit bull attacks. They can share how many sobbing people with bloody dog attack victims clutched in their arms they turn away because those people can’t pay up front for the cost of those attacks and they can share the percentage of those victims that were attacked by pit bulls. And then they can share how many pro bono hours they donate to save victims of pit bulls whose owners could not otherwise pay each year.
That would be a valuable study that would instantly clear up whether pit bulls just have “a bad reputation of being aggressive.” and whether they’re 100% trustworthy and whether it is humane to allow them in our communities. Otherwise, animal hospital workers advocating for pit bulls has an unhealthy whiff of monetary self-interest.
BSL does work. Obviously a law that targets pit bulls won’t affect other breeds. Although Toronto bites went up during a certain period, pit bull bites went down. Looking at bites is different than looking at serious maulings, but serious maulings is a large subset of pit bull bites. When pit bull bites go down, serious maulings are also going down, too, and that is the goal of pit bull bans. If bites by other breeds are going up, that means that the breed neutral laws are not being enforced because we know that both breed neutral and breed specific laws work when enforced. Pit bull bans and breed neutral laws must work together to bring down all bites. Look at Pawtucket RI for an excellent example of the effectiveness of a pit bull ban working in conjunction with rigorous enforcement of all dog safety laws to make people safer.
A 2013 peer-reviewed Canadian study showed that education programs had zero effect on bite rates. And it has been reported Calgary has had a horrible problem with a spike in unprovoked attacks by large dogs.
Enforcement is based on physical appearance of dogs looking at unique features that directly enable pit bulls to launch extremely vicious and damaging and fatal attacks, an oversized head and neck and jaws due to oversized musculature.
When the majority of serious attacks are the result of one kind of dog that represents 7% of the dog population. This has been documented by many studies on dog bites that require hospitalization. Every region of the US is reporting that pit bulls are the leading breed responsible for severe and fatal attacks.
http://blog.dogsbite.org/2016/10/report-level-1-trauma-dog-bite-studies-pitbull-highest-prevalence.html
The assumption that pit bull survivors, speaking out on their experiences, fail to acknowledge the victims of attacks by other breeds is a false assumption. We know it happens, but we also know it happens with relentless frequency with pit bulls. Of the 34 fatal dog attacks in the United States in 2015, 82% of those killed by dogs were killed by pit bulls. This year is shaping up to look very much the same. The number of Americans killed by Pugs or Poodles? Zero. To claim magical victim status for pit bulls because they “remember everything” is dangerous and disingenuous. The criteria for inclusion into the pit bull breed/type gene pool was the ability and desire to attack unprovoked and to continue that behavior until death occurs. Beagles were not bred for this behavior.
Medical doctors, the doctors that who take victims to the Operating Room in sometimes hopeless attempts to preserve life are sounding a warning about pit bulls. Please do not ignore these warnings.
Many survivors have a number they consider significant, the number of Americans killed by pit bulls since the date of their attack. My number is currently 211 (attack date April 29, 2007) sadly, this number changes frequently. Please read the material posted by Thomas at 12:09.
“The pit bull’s unusual breeding history has produced some bizarre behavioral traits, de- scribed by The Economist’s science editor in an article published a few years ago, at the peak of a heated British controversy over dangerous dogs that saw the pit bull banned in England.
First, the pit bull is quicker to anger than most dogs, probably due to the breed’s unusually high level of the neurotransmitter L-tyrosine.
Second, pit bulls are frighteningly tenacious; their attacks frequently last for 15 minutes or longer, and nothing—hoses, violent blows or kicks—can easily stop them. That’s because of the third behavioral anomaly: the breed’s remarkable insensitivity to pain.
Most dogs beaten in a fight will submit the next time they see the victor. Not a defeated pit bull, who will tear into his onetime vanquisher. This, too, has to do with brain chemistry.
The body releases endorphins as a natural painkiller. Pit bulls seem extra-sensitive to endorphins and may generate higher levels of the chemical than other dogs.
Endorphins are also addictive: “The dogs may be junkies, seeking pain so they can get the endorphin buzz they crave,” The Economist suggests.”
Finally, most dogs warn you before they attack, growling or barking to tell you how angry they are—”so they don’t have to fight,” ASPCA advisor and animal geneticist Stephen Zawistowski stresses.
Not the pit bull, which attacks without warning. Most dogs, too, will bow to signal that they want to frolic. Again, not the pit bull, which may follow an apparently playful bow with a lethal assault.
In short, contrary to the writings of Vicki Hearne, a well-known essayist on animals who—in a bizarre but emotionally charged confusion—equates breed-specific laws against pit bulls as a kind of “racist propaganda,” the pit bull is a breed apart.
The point is, other dogs bite and release causing a band aid or a stitch or two, it is only Pit bulls and Pit bull crosses and others like Bullmastiffs, Rotts etc. that attack and can not change their Genetic reality to Kill, Maul, Maim, Disfigure, Dismember, cause Life Flights or trips to the Intensive Care Unit.
These are the kind of attacks that BSL is designed to stop and they do so very successfully, they are not meant to stop everyday minor fear bites from normal dogs as those are not the attacks that pit bull type dogs carry out.
That is the big difference in the outcome and should result in a completely different attitude towards these dogs and why they should be banned outright.
The stats are very clear and accurate and show this reality even if you want to put your head in the sand, it still is what it is.
MAY 19
Another example of the failure that is breed neutral legislation:
“I’m very concerned about pit bulls and Rottweilers,” said Ryan Jestin, Calgary,Alberta, Canada director of Animal and Bylaw Services.
“There’s a history, there’s a reason why places like the city of Toronto have banned them outright. Is that a way we want to go in Calgary?
I’m not so sure, but quite clearly we have to take additional steps to make sure owners understand the ramifications of owning a breed that may potentially harm somebody.”
Jestin said he was concerned with the “viciousness” of this week’s attacks, adding all occurred out in the street rather than off-leash dog parks.
He said ABS will work with city Councillors to revamp the city’s Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw over the next year.
“The evidence clearly here is about pit bulls. That specific breed has caused real damage over the last five days,” Jestin said.
“If you want to have a pit bull at home you can, but I suspect it’s going to cost you much more for licensing, it’s going to cost you much more in the event there’s an attack such as we’ve seen in the last few days.”
Former city councillor John Schmal was a main proponent of a breed ban during the late 1980s. He said pit bulls “belong out in the farm somewhere.”
“They’re very dangerous. We’ve seen enough kids being bitten by pit bulls and even though families think they’re a nice animal and they’re part of the family, all of a sudden you find that they bit one of their own kids.
I don’t think they belong here in our city,” Schmal said. “Our bylaw department is pretty loosey-goosey in controlling dogs in our city.”
Still another example of the failure that is breed neutral legislation:
A teenage girl was taken to hospital after she was bitten by a “pit bull-type dog” in southeast Calgary,Alberta, Canada.
It’s the fifth dog attack in Calgary since Saturday, with three suspected to involve pit bulls.
“That specific breed has caused a lot of damage in the last five days,” said Calgary animal services director Ryan Jestin.
“Quite clearly there’s a public safety issue here,” he added.
Jestin said banning specific breeds is probably not the way Calgary wants to go, but he did agree with the mayor that higher fines should be considered.
He also put forward the idea of higher licensing fees for certain breeds.
Another example of the failure that is breed neutral legislation:
“I’m very concerned about pit bulls and Rottweilers,” said Ryan Jestin, Calgary,Alberta, Canada director of Animal and Bylaw Services.
“There’s a history, there’s a reason why places like the city of Toronto have banned them outright. Is that a way we want to go in Calgary?
I’m not so sure, but quite clearly we have to take additional steps to make sure owners understand the ramifications of owning a breed that may potentially harm somebody.”
Jestin said he was concerned with the “viciousness” of this week’s attacks, adding all occurred out in the street rather than off-leash dog parks.
He said ABS will work with city Councillors to revamp the city’s Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw over the next year.
“The evidence clearly here is about pit bulls. That specific breed has caused real damage over the last five days,” Jestin said.
“If you want to have a pit bull at home you can, but I suspect it’s going to cost you much more for licensing, it’s going to cost you much more in the event there’s an attack such as we’ve seen in the last few days.”
Former city councillor John Schmal was a main proponent of a breed ban during the late 1980s. He said pit bulls “belong out in the farm somewhere.”
“They’re very dangerous. We’ve seen enough kids being bitten by pit bulls and even though families think they’re a nice animal and they’re part of the family, all of a sudden you find that they bit one of their own kids.
I don’t think they belong here in our city,” Schmal said. “Our bylaw department is pretty loosey-goosey in controlling dogs in our city.”
http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/city-looks-to-boost-fines-for-pit-bull-bites-after-slew-of-attacks
Still another example of the failure that is breed neutral legislation:
A teenage girl was taken to hospital after she was bitten by a “pit bull-type dog” in southeast Calgary,Alberta, Canada.
It’s the fifth dog attack in Calgary since Saturday, with three suspected to involve pit bulls.
“That specific breed has caused a lot of damage in the last five days,” said Calgary animal services director Ryan Jestin.
“Quite clearly there’s a public safety issue here,” he added.
Jestin said banning specific breeds is probably not the way Calgary wants to go, but he did agree with the mayor that higher fines should be considered.
He also put forward the idea of higher licensing fees for certain breeds.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-teen-taken-to-hospital-after-pit-bull-type-dog-bites-her-legs-1.3072573
An example of the failure that is breed neutral legislation:
In Calgary, by Bill Bruce’s own admission and documentation, pit bulls lead the serious bite count with 13% of the city’s serious bites attributable to pit bulls, yet pit bulls account for less than 1% of the city’s dogs.
In fact, pit bulls are responsible for nearly as many serious bites (13%) as the ENTIRE sporting breeding category (15%), which includes all of the most popular breeds (Labs, Goldens, Poodles, Spaniels, etc) and houses 70% of Calgary’s dogs.
Why aren’t these breeds attacking in the face of irresponsible ownership?
An example of why leashing and licensing laws don’t work to solve the breed-specific problem of pit bulls:
Pitbull supporters always point to Calgary Model as the perfect solution when dealing with dangerous dogs. The city introduced its responsible pet ownership bylaw in 2006.
Calgary’s bylaw department emphasizes responsible pet ownership through intensive licensing, hefty fines and owner education.
In Calgary, the largest city in Alberta, “confirmed aggressive dog incidents” and related criminal charges tripled in 2013, and in mid-2014 were up 15% more.
Has their model worked? The statistics from the past four years would indicate a resounding “NO”. For the past four years dog bites have risen steadily every year, and over 350% in the past 4 years, from 58 in 2009 to 203 in 2012.
And In 2010 Pit bulls led the ‘bite’ count. Meanwhile in Toronto, four years after implementing Breed Bans, dog bites were down 32%, from 486 to 329.
Bites in Toronto blamed on the four banned breeds fell sharply, from 71 in 2005 to only six in 2010.
Considering these breeds regularly inflict the most serious damage, this is an undeniable win for the citizens of Toronto.
There were 400 dog bites in Calgary in 2013 and 500 in 2014.
125 of the 144 human beings killed by dogs in the US since Jan. 2013 were killed by Pit Bull Type Dogs.
28 Dead by Dog attack in the USA and Canada so far in 2016
26 killed by known pit bull type dogs / pit bull mixes.
Stars (**) indicate that the killer was someone’s beloved ‘family pet’ pit bull that was never abused or neglected. The double dagger (‡) indicates that the ‘family pet’ pit bull belonged to the deceased person, their family or a relative.
Child fatalities by pit bull type dog (9):
Tyler Trammell-Huston, 9 y.o. old, Marysville,CA ** ‡ Jan.4th. Sisters pit bulls
Payton Lyrik Sawyers 15 mos. old Girl , Grayson County, VA ** Jan.6th, Mothers friends pit bull Mix.
Talen Nathan West, 7 y.o. old, Lumberton, N.C. ** Jan.24th. Neighbors Pit Bull Killed the child.
Sebastian Caban, 3 day old baby, Mira Mesa, CA ** ‡ April.22nd by a Family pet Pit Bull.
Hunter Bragg– 7 y.o. – Corinna, ME ** ‡ [June 4 – parents’ pit bull]
Susie Kirby, 3 day old baby girl, Fresno CA, ** ‡ June.28th by two family pit bull mixes.
Kayden Colter Begay, 3 y.o.,Seba Dalkai, AZ, Navajo Reservation ** July.14
by 12 Pit Bulls
Derion Stevenson, 9 y.o., Les Vegas,NV, ** ‡ Aug.17 by Friends pit bull
Piper Dunbar ,2 Years Old, Topeka, Kan, ** ‡ by 2 Family Pit Bulls.
Adult fatalities by pit bull type dog (17):
Kathleen Green, 78 y.o old, Tk’emlups First Nation near Kamloops,B.C. ** ‡ Jan.30th by family Pit Bull Type Dog.
Suzanne Story, 36 y.o. old, Perquimans County, N.C. ** Feb.10, Pit Bull mix.
Gladys Alexander, 92 y.o., Thurston County, WA ** March.6th, 4 Pit Bull mixes.
Bessie Flowers, 86 y.o. old, Charlotte, NC,** ‡ March.28th by 2 family pit bulls
Sonda Tyson, 66 y.o., Leesburg, Fla. ** ‡ March.31st by her pet pit bull.
Manuel Mejia, 49 y.o., Homestead, Florida, April 23, 2016 by a pack of pit bull mixes.
Lola Endres – 61 y.o. – Brownsburg, IA — ** ‡ [May 8 – her own ‘old English bulldogs’]
Antoinette Brown – 52 y.o. – Dallas, TX — ** [Attacked May 2, died May 9 – neighbor’s roaming pit bulls and pit bull mixes]
Adonis Reddick – 45 y.o. – St. Louis County, MO — ** ‡ [May 9 – his own two pit bulls]
Earl Wayne Stephens Jr – 43 y.o. – Stockton, CA ** [June 4 – friend’s pit bull]
Christiane Vadnais –55 y.o.–Montreal,Quebec, June.8th by Neighbors pit bull.
Jocelyn Winfrey, 53 y.o., New Haven Conn., ** June.27th by a friends 2 pit bull mixes.
Elizabeth Rivera, 71 y.o., Detroit, MI, ** ‡ July.16 by her Pit Bull
Michelle Wilcox, 39 y.o., Screven Co., GA ** ‡ Aug.2 by boyfriends Pit Bull
Crisencio Aliado, 52 y.o., Kalihi, Hawaii ** July 29 2 Pit Bulls
Michael Downing – 83 yrs old – Jacksonville, FL., ** Aug.19, 4 Dogs, 2 Pit Bull Mixes and 2 Rottweiler mixes.
Susan Shawl, 60 y.o., Jefferson County, CO ** ‡ Aug.29th, by Sons 2 pit bulls.
By unknown Breed:
Aiden Johnathon Grim-Morelli, 3-days old, Youngstown, OH ** ‡ Feb.8th by mixed breed dog.
Fatalities by other types of dogs (2):
Unnamed girl – 4 y.o. – Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut, Canada [June 6 – chained, outdoor-kept sled dog type that was part of a sled team]
Erin McCleskey – 36 y.o. – Manor, TX [June 15 – six Gr.Pyr-Lab and husky-heeler mixes, attacked while serving civil court papers to dogs’ owner]
Foreign deaths by pit bull type dog that we know of (21):
Liam Hewitson – 22 y.o. – ‘Fishwick’, Preston, Lancashire, England ** [January 1 – girlfriend’s pit bull]
Marli Ribeiro Siqueiro – 65 y.o. – Gordo Well, North Fluminense, Brazil ** ‡ [January 10 – her own pit bull mix]
Unnamed girl – 7 yrs. old – Chitrpur Village, Kundarski Tehsil, India [roaming owned pit bulls]
Chantal Pillay – 29 y.o. – Phoenix, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa ** [February 6 — six roaming, owned pit bulls]
Twiggy Buchisa – 7 y.o. – Pamodza’s Overspill area, Zambia, Africa [February 21 – neighbor’s two ‘Boerboels’, which is a pit – mastiff mix]
Jerome Pow – 56 y.o. – St. Andrew, Jamaica [February 29 – roaming owned pit bulls]
Maria Luz Molle – 37 y.o. – Cochabamba, La Razon, Bolivia [March 3 – pit bulls owned by the person whose house she was cleaning]
Maleek Khan – 6 mo.old – Trinidad & Tobago ** ‡ [March 8 – parents’ pit – Rottweiler mix]
Jesus Savior – 5 y.o. – Monclova, Cloahuila, Mexico ** [March 16 – killed while playing at a friend’s house]
Wayne Kayster – 35 y.o. – Capetown, South Africa ** [March 21 – neighbor’s pit bulls]
Mpho Mokoena – 32 y.o. – Pietermaritzburg, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa ** ‡ [April 25 – pit bull mix she grew up with plus two Rottweilers]
Unnamed boy – 18 mo. old – Metz, Alsace, France ** ‡ [May 6 – so-called ‘AmStaff’ owned by the baby’s parents]
Pushpendra Kumar – 9 y.o. –Unai Chapta village, Baheri, India ** [May 14 – roaming owned pit bull types]
Amukelani Bhengu – 3 y.o. – Umlazi, South Africa ** ‡ [May 16 – parents’ pit bull]
Unidentified man – — Cleator Moor, Cumbria, UK ** ‡ [May 21 – his own pit bull]
Unidentified woman – 76 y.o. – Inverigo, Lombardi, near Milan, Italy ** ‡ [June 17 – her own two beloved APBTs]
Unidentified man, 84 y.o., Novi Sad,Serbia, ** July.11, 2 pit bulls
David Ellam, 52 y.o., London, England ,** Aug. 15, Staffordshire/Labrador Mix
Dexter Neal, 3 y.o., Essex, England, ** ‡ August 18, by an American Bulldog (A Pit Bull Mix)
1 year old baby girl, Hermanus, South Africa, ** ‡ Aug.26th, Family Pit Bull Mix.
Foreign deaths by other types of dogs (1):
Unnamed boy – 5 y.o. – Thessaloniki, Greece [May 1 – two Rottweilers]
I’m assuming you don’t acknowledge the other dog attacks or fatalities from other breeds? You can’t blame the whole breed for what some of these dogs do. Even then, there’s pieces that you don’t understand. Pit bulls remember everything. Something that happened when they were a puppy, could be triggered, causing them to bite. However, every bite happens for a reason. No dog bites for nothing. There’s tons of scientific evidence that proves that. The only reason “pit bull attacks” are even acknowledged is due to the media, which is a waste of time. If you actually do your research, these dogs weren’t even on the radar til the Michael Vick problem. Granted, backyard breeders should be taken down, but these dogs didn’t create themselves. You can blame the dogs all day long. That’s like blaming a rape victim for being raped. You’re looking at the wrong end of the leash.
Please allow me to voice my thoughts on this piece. Full disclosure, I’m the survivor of a pit bull attack. I have pain 24/7/365 and will for the rest of my life. I was incredibly fortunate, I lived. My horse, the primary target of the attack lived as well but he has pain 24/7/365 as well. He is no longer sound and is kept primarily as a pet. He went from stunning and talented reining prospect to large and expensive pet in a 20-minute attack that covered a mile and was witnessed by hundreds of horrified park patrons. I urge veterinary students to keep the victims of pit bull attacks in mind when considering the pit bull controversy. We don’t get our original, and peaceful lives back. We pay the price.
BSL was never designed to impact bite stats. BSL was designed to protect the peaceful public from life changing maulings like mine, and maulings that kill. When hospital admissions, length of stay, costs of treatment, severity of injuries are considered then BSL proves to be proactive and protective. Research done in Manitoba Canada and Catalonia Spain, using hospital data supports the efficacy of BSL. Research studies done by medical doctors in all areas of the United States indicates that pit bull injuries are more serious and more frequent than injuries by injuries caused by other breeds. This is a simple Google search. I would be happy to provide many links but you might begin with Characteristics of 1616 Consecutive Dog Bite Injuries at a Single Institution by Golinko, Arslanian, and Williams. Move on to Mortality, Mauling, and Maiming by Vicious dogs by Bini et al.
“Education” has been a false promise made by breed advocates for the last 30 years. It has never worked anywhere. Bill Bruce slunk out of Calgary after his program failed miserably. He is now a consultant for the National Canine Research Council. The NCRC is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Animal Farm Foundation. This is extreme pit bull advocacy. Mr. Bruce is a professional pit bull advocate.
Genetic testing is held out as some sort of ultimate proof by breed advocates but genetic testing does not reveal pit bull DNA. Pit bull DNA is not in the breed library of the Mars Wisdom Panel. To demand testing that does not test for the desired result is foolish and manipulative. The courts agree that a “dog owner of ordinary intelligence” can identify a pit bull. Why do pit bull advocates have such difficulty with this? Visual identification is the standard around which dog shows, and dog breeding revolves. One would be laughed off the grounds of any dog show in the world if one stated that the dogs could not be identified visually.
Dogs bred for an activity so violent that it is a felony in all 50 states, and all the civilized world, are genetically programmed for violence. The criteria for admission into the breed/type gene pool was the ability and desire to attack unprovoked and to continue that behavior until death occurs. To deny genetics and promote dogs bred for violence as pets in our communities is to doom the peaceful public to bloody attacks that result in death or lifelong pain and disfigurement. It is not the dog’s appearance that is the problem.
Holding owners accountable after the fact does not protect the public. The victim is still dead or suffers life changing injuries. There is almost never any insurance to cover the victim’s medical expenses. Pit bull owners almost never carry insurance because insurance to cover liability in the case of a pit bull attack is VERY expensive. The insurance industry, relying on their own actuarial data, for the most part, refuses to sell policies to pit bull owners. This leaves the victim paying their own medical bills. Gofundme pages are common.
The peaceful public, getting their news from reputable news sources, is aware of fatal, and life changing pit bull attacks. The peaceful public does not require the education here. Veterinarians may consider concentrating their efforts at education toward pit bull owners. Pit bull owners largely refuse to neuter and spay their dogs. Please look up the April 1, 2011, issue of JAVMA. The table on page 901 shows percentages of dogs surgically castrated, by breed. It is no surprise that pit bulls are at the bottom of the list. Keep in mind that these numbers come from vets, the dogs were seen in their clinics. Many pit bulls never see the inside of a veterinary clinic. It is not choice driven by economic concerns that drives this. Any community in the United States can apply for grants for the purpose of, and limited to the neuter and spay of pit bulls. This surgery is done free of charge but still pit bull owners refuse. Kansas City got a grant of $100,000 dollars for pit bull neuter and spay. The city did direct mailings, radio ads, signs, and house to house visits, but a year later they returned almost $87,000 unused. Even free, pit bull owners did not want neuter and spay.
Pit bull advocacy is very powerful and very well funded. Please consider the simple fact that no other breed/type of dog requires professional advocates, lawyers, and lobbyists. A cabal of those promoting protection for Poodles or Pugs? Not needed.
Breed-Neutral ordinances are not working. The escalating severe pit bull attacks on people and pets is proof.
Pit-bull type dogs are responsible for 95% of severe attacks on people, pets and livestock in breed neutral zones.
http://www.nationalpitbullvictimawareness.org/
The Montreal regulations were forcing owners to be responsible. All pit bulls need permit, must be altered, must be muzzled in public, and criminals can’t own them. Seems reasonable. If you are truly a responsible owner, you will have no issue with this.
RESPONSIBLE MONTREAL PIT BULL OWNERS GET TO KEEP THEIR DOGS with the proposed bylaws! Thousands of Montreal pit bulls are not going to die. SPCA de Montréal stated intake of pit bull type dogs a year is around 700. They think there are around 7,000 pit bull type dogs in Montreal.
Think about it. If all the pit bulls are fixed in Montreal, the shelters will not have to deal with the overpopulation of unwanted pit bulls.
Pit bulls are ALREADY being put down in massive numbers in cities without pit bull bans. The head of animal control in Pawtucket RI said that before the ban they put down pit bulls weekly, as well as picked up the dead ones from dogfighting. After the ban, in 2012, they put down three pit bulls in the entire year
http://safetybeforebulldogs.blogspot.com/2014/02/pawtucket-rhode-island-pit-bull-ban-and.html
The purpose of a pit bull ban is not to prevent bites, but to prevent maulings. Bites require band-aids or a few stitches; maulings require amputation, plastic surgery, rehabilitation therapy, and possibly caskets.
Very Telling: All 290 U.S. military bases ban pit bulls. There are 937 U.S. cities and 41 countries which enact breed specific ordinances because they present an unreasonable risk to health and public safety. http://www.banpitbulls.org/where/where-pit-bulls-banned/
I try not to psychoanalyze people, but you wear it on your sleeve. This response means three things:
1. You are serious codependency issues
2. You have a severe learning disorder
3. For a true believer, there is never enough evidence to kill their belief.
Pitbulls were bred to be aggressive, bottom line. Anyone that wants to ignore this fact and thinks their “love”,”warmth”, “empathy”, compassion, can overcome breeding shows some degree of Narcissism as well.Working dogs have a place, that’s not as a companion animal. Anyone that believes otherwise is emotionally stunted at 5 yrs old.
The carnage caused by pit bulls fills the wallets of vets. An animal that has been attacked by one of these dogs often means thousands of dollars worth of surgery and aftercare. I’m not surprised that so many of you stand in favour of pit bulls. It’s financially profitable to do so even if it is morally lacking.
What does that have to do with the inherent dangers of Pit Bulls? Surely you can’t be saying that only Pit Bulls are left alone all day while owners work. That would be such a silly notion.
I have been an advocate for the animals including the cocker spaniel which tore through my hand in 1959 when I was 5 years old. As they numbed my hand and began stitching There was talk of quarantine and destroy the animal. I protested, “He wouldn’t have bitten me if he wasn’t locked up and ignored all day.” From the mouth of a babe 57 years ago. In the time and 18 years education since, no one has presented an argument to sway my original opinion at the age of 5.
Pit Bull haters? Are you speaking of those who have had their pets mauled by Pit Bulls? Bashing victims isn’t cool. Nobody cares about stopping dog fighting. Those aren’t the Pits killing our children and pets. It is the Pit being kept as a pet that presents a real threat and a danger in our communities. A Pit Bull is a breed of dog, recognized by multiple breed registries for over a hundred years complete with its own breed standard. Gee, do I think that by getting rid of Pit Bulls that people and pets being mauled and / or killed by Pit Bulls will stop? How could there be any other outcome. Why do Pit Bull advocates have to keep promoting propaganda, lies and spew to promote a false image of their gamebred, dog fighting breed? If you don’t want to own a natural born mauler and killer, then don’t pretend that your breed is a safe pet, go out and get yourself a real dog and stop the spew.
Wow, most of the people coming on this are the ones that need to be exterminated. This breed of dog is turned aggressive by people and then stupid people still want to blame the dog.
These Pitbull haters are the worst breed of all. It’s not one breed of dog, you think by getting rid of Pitbulls you will stop dog fighters? No. You think people will stop getting bit or mauled? No. Your ignorance is unbelievable and just plain sad. Why do you people even bother hunting down blogs to spread your hate? Don’t you guys have enough dog killing, owner bashing, picture stealing groups for harassment on Facebook to flock too!?
Ban these stupid people and send them away, you all deserve each other and will end up mauling each other vile creatures would be your breed of human…
Veterinarians are stakeholders in this “too big to fail” pet industry debacle. Students are being led like sheep to the slaughter… I am shocked that they skipped basic and advanced genetics classes and lack any understanding of heredity and breeding/selection. I didnt miss those classes which is why Im not buying all this bruhaha over breed preference.
The author of this shocking anti-science propaganda piece is not the kind of person that I would want to treat my dog or cat or even a neighborhood feral cat that was just dismembered, disemboweled or delimbed by a savage Pit Bull.
Her blatant disdain of science is just as worrisome. There is no place in medicine for voodoo practices.
I find it disgraceful that Drs. Scott and Fuller, leading geneticists in the field of dog behavior genetics or their work done in conjunction with Clarence Pfaffenberger is not mandatory reading and study and that this delusional voodoo nonsense that a dog is a dog and that a dog is all in how you raise and train it is allowed to permeate and disgrace the veterinary field.
We all are all too familiar with how veterinarians fill their pockets at the cost of innocent victims ripped apart by Pit Bulls. I know, I have seen them at my vets, to the tune of over $1,000.00 per day hospital stay, whole body sepsis, legs ripped off, and these were big dogs that were so egregiously injured by Pit Bulls… shameful and disgusting.
I believe that any and all veterinarians that promote Pit Bull propaganda such as this should offer pro bono care for any and all Pit Bull victims that come into their practices and that it should be mandatory that all serious dog attacks, including breed, should be reported to one central reporting agency to be compiled and made public on a yearly basis with the AVMA’s stamp of approval.
The owner is who should be punished not the breed I know so many people who have those dogs and they are the biggest loveliest mushes i know
A breed of dog should not be punished! The owner of those dogs should be held accountable! And not to mention there are tons of dog bites all the time but the only ones that get out into the media are the pittys!
Dear Author,
There have been plenty of fatalities(including infants) with these types of dogs in UK. Let Montreal pass this law and prevent humans being attacked. Lets get our priority sorted first.
Dhul