The Stupidity of Breed Specific Legislation

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I want to address a major problem that is growing around the world in the last few years and that is Breed Specific legislation. For those who are unfamiliar with this term it is a law that many cities around the world have been introducing that states the city is allowed to remove a dog that they consider dangerous even when there has been ZERO evidence to prove that the animal is in fact a danger to those living in that city. Each city that has such a law has their own idea of what "dangerous" is. For some it's specific breeds such as pit bulls, bull terriers, German Shepherd Dogs, etc. In some cities all it takes is for the officials to think your dog looks like a breed they consider dangerous even if said animal has absolutely zero DNA of these so-called "dangerous breeds". This something that our species just can't seem to learn from because such things have been done in the past in relation to our own species. Back in World War 2 and before that even certain people were attacked, beat up, even killed in the name of protecting the rest of society from their menace and what was so menacing about them? They were Jewish, they were Christians, they were black, they were Asian. Most of these people never did a thing wrong or hurt anyone but because of who they were they were ostracized by society, told they don't belong and that they're a menace to good decent people and in many instances they were shunned, run out of town, even murdered.

Recently a case in point was a lovely family pet and also a small child's service dog named Lennox in Belfast, Ireland. This dog was a wonderful family pet and was not dangerous to anyone at all and had no history of being dangerous but because he looked like a breed the city deemed "dangerous" he was confiscated from the family and after two years of legal proceedings, testimony stating that this animal was in fact NOT dangerous and should be returned to his family he was put to sleep. There are many such examples of animals being taken from their homes simply because they are or look like a "dangerous breed" and being killed, that's right I said killed because that's exactly what is happening when you put to sleep an animal that has shown absolutely zero dangerous behavior, zero aggression towards family members or the public.

Why are cities around the globe putting such ridiculous laws in place? Because they believe that this is the simplest solution to the real problem which is NOT any breed of dog but the people who have them in their homes. There is absolutely no evidence that points to ANY PARTICULAR DOG BREED BEING MORE DANGEROUS THAN ANY OTHER. The reason certain breeds are singled out is due to newspapers around the globe mainly printing stories about these breeds such as pit bulls, Doberman pinchers, and any other breed when there is some kind of attack that happens. When or IF said newspapers and news agencies actually dig deeper into these situations they would realize that in most cases there are extenuating circumstances that caused said "attacks". 99% of these are the result of improper training, not enough socializing and pure laziness on the part of the people who have adopted these animals. But instead of the person(s) being punished it's the animal that pays the ultimate price simply for being alive! Officials imagine that enacting Breed Specific legislation they're somehow making their cities and states safer places to live and it couldn't be further from the truth. If anyone were to do any kind of actual research they'd soon learn that having such laws in place does not make things safer for those living there. Why is that? Because there is no such thing as a dangerous breed of dog! Any dog of any breed can be dangerous if they're not properly handled, properly socialized and given the time and attention that these dogs need in order to be happy, healthy member of our enlarged society. In fact, for those who say that pit bulls and bull terrier type dogs are inherently dangerous I'd like to shed a bit of truth into the matter. Do you realize that there are more dog bites by Golden Retrievers than there are of any other breed? But are they being banned from cities? Of course not.

Basically what we have here is the same thing the world's been so disgusted and abhorred by for decades and that is a holocaust. Is this a strong word to use? Yes it is but it's extremely fitting. Let's look at history and see what led to holocausts happening. Certain people in society in various countries around the globe (That's right it wasn't just Germany that did this) decided that a certain group of people were a danger to society as they saw it and they felt so strongly about it that they didn't just leave these people in peace they took their rights away, they took them away from their families and in many instances murdered these so-called "dangerous people" in the hundreds of thousands and in many cases in the millions. All of this happened because they thought they were making things safer for those they thought deserved to live. Well let's ask this question, who's right and power is it to decide who has the right to live? Should dangerous people and animals be handled properly? Of course they should; but to single out an entire breed, just as in the past, humans have singled out a certain race or religious group, because they a few of them have caused injury or death to others is absolutely ridiculous. Let's take another example. Say 100 men around the world who have blond hair, blue eyes, beards and hooked noses have killed or attacked someone. Does this mean that we should start eliminating men who have these characteristics but haven't done anything wrong? Does this mean we should take them from their families when they're happy, healthy and completely innocent? IF this were to happen there'd be outrage from all corners of the globe; yet that is exactly what's happening with these Breed Specific legislative laws that have been introduced and enacted in various cities around the world!

What should be done? I'll tell you what should be done; every one of these laws should be removed from every city around the world because they're ineffective, dangerous and completely ludicrous. What should be done is when a pet bites or kills someone that each case is handled individually just as it is with any human attacking another human case is handled. If the animal is found to be dangerous as far as wanting to attack anyone and anything that comes in front him/her then of course they should be removed but all of the facts need to be dealt with first; such as did someone provoke said animal first? Is this animal protecting their home? Has this animal been mistreated by their human family members? Has this animal been trained to kill? These are just a small example of the sorts of questions that need to be asked whenever an animal attacks or kills a human being or another animal. Then when the answers are found things should be done accordingly; if the humans haven't properly trained their pet or socialized them well then the humans should be fined heavily. However, when a perfectly healthy, happy pet has shown absolutely no signs of aggression, has no history of being dangerous and they're being removed from a family simply because of the breed they are or even for looking like a certain breed that should not be allowed to happen AT ALL! No one has any right to remove an animal from a family that loves them simply because of what they look like or what they are. Until these laws are removed from the books, until society learns that we're all responsible for making sure our pets are properly trained and socialized, until we learn that enacting such laws does absolutely no good for the actual safety and welfare of cities, states & countries we will be seeing innocent animals taken from their homes, breaking the hearts of those who love them, breaking the hearts of the animals being removed from their homes and we ALL will be guilty of killing animals that we ourselves have been breeding for centuries. We will all be guilty of killing innocent animals simply because of what they look like and what breed they happen to be. I don't know about you but I can't live with that sort of decision.

I want to address a major problem that is growing around the world in the last few years and that is Breed Specific legislation. For those who are unfamiliar with this term it is a law that many cities around the world have been introducing that states the city is allowed to remove a dog that they consider dangerous even when there has been ZERO evidence to prove that the animal is in fact a danger to those living in that city. Each city that has such a law has their own idea of what "dangerous" is. For some it's specific breeds such as pit bulls, bull terriers, German Shepherd Dogs, etc. In some cities all it takes is for the officials to think your dog looks like a breed they consider dangerous even if said animal has absolutely zero DNA of these so-called "dangerous breeds". This something that our species just can't seem to learn from because such things have been done in the past in relation to our own species. Back in World War 2 and before that even certain people were attacked, beat up, even killed in the name of protecting the rest of society from their menace and what was so menacing about them? They were Jewish, they were Christians, they were black, they were Asian. Most of these people never did a thing wrong or hurt anyone but because of who they were they were ostracized by society, told they don't belong and that they're a menace to good decent people and in many instances they were shunned, run out of town, even murdered.

Recently a case in point was a lovely family pet and also a small child's service dog named Lennox in Belfast, Ireland. This dog was a wonderful family pet and was not dangerous to anyone at all and had no history of being dangerous but because he looked like a breed the city deemed "dangerous" he was confiscated from the family and after two years of legal proceedings, testimony stating that this animal was in fact NOT dangerous and should be returned to his family he was put to sleep. There are many such examples of animals being taken from their homes simply because they are or look like a "dangerous breed" and being killed, that's right I said killed because that's exactly what is happening when you put to sleep an animal that has shown absolutely zero dangerous behavior, zero aggression towards family members or the public.

Why are cities around the globe putting such ridiculous laws in place? Because they believe that this is the simplest solution to the real problem which is NOT any breed of dog but the people who have them in their homes. There is absolutely no evidence that points to ANY PARTICULAR DOG BREED BEING MORE DANGEROUS THAN ANY OTHER. The reason certain breeds are singled out is due to newspapers around the globe mainly printing stories about these breeds such as pit bulls, Doberman pinchers, and any other breed when there is some kind of attack that happens. When or IF said newspapers and news agencies actually dig deeper into these situations they would realize that in most cases there are extenuating circumstances that caused said "attacks". 99% of these are the result of improper training, not enough socializing and pure laziness on the part of the people who have adopted these animals. But instead of the person(s) being punished it's the animal that pays the ultimate price simply for being alive! Officials imagine that enacting Breed Specific legislation they're somehow making their cities and states safer places to live and it couldn't be further from the truth. If anyone were to do any kind of actual research they'd soon learn that having such laws in place does not make things safer for those living there. Why is that? Because there is no such thing as a dangerous breed of dog! Any dog of any breed can be dangerous if they're not properly handled, properly socialized and given the time and attention that these dogs need in order to be happy, healthy member of our enlarged society. In fact, for those who say that pit bulls and bull terrier type dogs are inherently dangerous I'd like to shed a bit of truth into the matter. Do you realize that there are more dog bites by Golden Retrievers than there are of any other breed? But are they being banned from cities? Of course not.

Basically what we have here is the same thing the world's been so disgusted and abhorred by for decades and that is a holocaust. Is this a strong word to use? Yes it is but it's extremely fitting. Let's look at history and see what led to holocausts happening. Certain people in society in various countries around the globe (That's right it wasn't just Germany that did this) decided that a certain group of people were a danger to society as they saw it and they felt so strongly about it that they didn't just leave these people in peace they took their rights away, they took them away from their families and in many instances murdered these so-called "dangerous people" in the hundreds of thousands and in many cases in the millions. All of this happened because they thought they were making things safer for those they thought deserved to live. Well let's ask this question, who's right and power is it to decide who has the right to live? Should dangerous people and animals be handled properly? Of course they should; but to single out an entire breed, just as in the past, humans have singled out a certain race or religious group, because they a few of them have caused injury or death to others is absolutely ridiculous. Let's take another example. Say 100 men around the world who have blond hair, blue eyes, beards and hooked noses have killed or attacked someone. Does this mean that we should start eliminating men who have these characteristics but haven't done anything wrong? Does this mean we should take them from their families when they're happy, healthy and completely innocent? IF this were to happen there'd be outrage from all corners of the globe; yet that is exactly what's happening with these Breed Specific legislative laws that have been introduced and enacted in various cities around the world!

What should be done? I'll tell you what should be done; every one of these laws should be removed from every city around the world because they're ineffective, dangerous and completely ludicrous. What should be done is when a pet bites or kills someone that each case is handled individually just as it is with any human attacking another human case is handled. If the animal is found to be dangerous as far as wanting to attack anyone and anything that comes in front him/her then of course they should be removed but all of the facts need to be dealt with first; such as did someone provoke said animal first? Is this animal protecting their home? Has this animal been mistreated by their human family members? Has this animal been trained to kill? These are just a small example of the sorts of questions that need to be asked whenever an animal attacks or kills a human being or another animal. Then when the answers are found things should be done accordingly; if the humans haven't properly trained their pet or socialized them well then the humans should be fined heavily. However, when a perfectly healthy, happy pet has shown absolutely no signs of aggression, has no history of being dangerous and they're being removed from a family simply because of the breed they are or even for looking like a certain breed that should not be allowed to happen AT ALL! No one has any right to remove an animal from a family that loves them simply because of what they look like or what they are. Until these laws are removed from the books, until society learns that we're all responsible for making sure our pets are properly trained and socialized, until we learn that enacting such laws does absolutely no good for the actual safety and welfare of cities, states & countries we will be seeing innocent animals taken from their homes, breaking the hearts of those who love them, breaking the hearts of the animals being removed from their homes and we ALL will be guilty of killing animals that we ourselves have been breeding for centuries. We will all be guilty of killing innocent animals simply because of what they look like and what breed they happen to be. I don't know about you but I can't live with that sort of decision.

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