How do you feel about Breed Specific Legislation?
http://www.sidyboysfoolin.com/BSLcountries.html How do you guys feel about this? I'd like to hear your thoughts. |
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| I guess this may not be a relevant topic because we all own socially accepted breeds, but just imagine if your local government told you that sheepdogs are dangerous and cannot be tolerated in your county/city...how would you feel about that? |
| I'm on both sides of this but let me explain: First of all, I'm against anyone telling me what I should be able to have as a pet provided that I properly train, obey all laws, the animal doesn't injure anyone and, most importantly, I can provide a home that is in the animal's best interest, treat the animal well and insure the best care possible. The example I'm thinking of is people trying to keep lions or tigers in their home-- I know of several incidences in Detroit where they found lions-- declawed and teeth filed in crack houses. I don't even need to express the disgust I feel about that.
But, that does bring me to the other side of this. As I'm sure everybody's seen Animal Cops Detroit, Detroit is no stranger to dog fighting. In cases like that, I support a ban just to keep them out of the city so they're safe. Worse yet, here in Detroit, some of the fighting dogs wind up as strays and that's when things get dangerous for everyone-- people and animals. I live in the Detroit suburbs and, to avoid rush hour, I take a, well, "colorful" way home from work through the outskirts of the city. Everyday I see stray dogs-- and not the same ones either-- and many look like pit or rottie mixes. Who knows where they come from but somebody's breeding these dogs. So, in cases like that, though it does negatively affect those that could be responsible owners and give a dog a good home, I think you're better off with a ban for the greater good of all. In smaller cities, it's a whole different story. I think a lot of that is just the fear of what people say about those breeds or the bans are spawned by isolated incidents that fit the mold of what they've heard, so banning just seems like the quickest way to never get repeat incident. In all seriousness, if it meant that much to me to own a certain animal, like my own dogs, I would move without hesitation if a ban was put up. However, particularly those in a large city that would not be responsibile owners, would either own an animal illegally or not have it at all since they probably couldn't afford to move to another city. Like I said, I don't think it's fair to those with good intentions but it's just too hard to police everyone on an individual basis as well as prosecute those who should be for mistreating animals. I should note that, ultimately, these opinions are just based off of my experience with things that have happened in in my area and things that I've seen and heard on the news in the city of Detroit. I don't mean to imply that all large cities have similar problems. |
| Thank you, Butterscotch, because you've expressed my words exactly.
It really makes me mad that there are certain people out there, training and manipulating, or even NEGLECTING to train---and that's where the problem lies. I am for getting rid of breed specific bans, but I am also for more strict laws with dog owners. That may make some people angry, but dogs deserve a good home, where they are properly fed, cared for, and trained. And breeds such as pitbulls may be naturally "dog-agressive" but I feel like it's the neglectful owners that are giving these dogs a bad name. I believe that breeders of any kind should necessitate some kind of screening (so as not to breed dogs with poor characteristics) and for now, people that want to own these controversial breeds be interviewed, because I feel like I'm seeing way too many people getting dogs for the wrong reasons; for instance: pitbulls can be good watchdogs in that they bark, but (if appropriately bred) they love humans too much to be protection dogs. So, bottom line...rather than breed specific, I would rather encourage owner and breeder specific laws. I want to enforce neuter and spay laws in non-breeder, non-reproductive conscious owners. I'm sick of seeing these people who neglect to de-sex their dog and bring in a litter to our Humane Society and expect us to take on their irresponsibility...God, I'm so sick of all these irresponsible owners, and I wish there were some way of fixing this, but alas, there is not. But at least for the time being I would like to enforce some kind of breeder (not breed) specific laws. Ok, thanks, that's all for now. |
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