92 Reasons Why You Should Care About Breed Specific Legislation

by Stephanie Feldstein · 2009-11-30 05:00:00 UTC
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Six years ago, Italy opened the door to breed specific legislation and ended up with a list of 92 breeds subject to restrictions. After a while, it was narrowed to 17 breeds, which still proved costly and ineffective. This past spring, the smaller list was thrown out and replaced by a new law that would hold owners responsible for their dog's behavior on an individual basis. Italy closed the door on breed specific legislation.

There are not 92 ways to list "pit bulls." Italy's original law included some of the breeds often listed alongside pit bulls like Dobermans and Rottweilers, but it also restricted dogs like Corgis and Border Collies. If your favorite breed is lucky enough not to be one of the usual suspects, there's no way to guarantee it won't make the list once that door is open. All it would take was a well-publicized attack by your a member of your breed, and it's in danger of being added to the list.

Breed bans don't work because there's not any one breed responsible for dog bites. The factors that go into dog bite incidents have to do with responsible ownership: if the dog is neutered, kept inside, or tied out in a yard, supervised or left to roam free. Breed specific legislation puts officials in the position of guessing a dog's parentage instead of determining whether it reasonably poses a risk. This type of profiling simply doesn't make sense. Yet that doesn't stop cities from continuing to pass breed bans. Neither does the fact that places like Italy have admitted the failure of their breed specific laws and moved in favor of "dangerous dog" legislation.

The battles being fought over breed bans across the U.S. are proof that what happened in Italy can happen anywhere -- both the witch hunt to find a breed to blame and the victory of overturning unreasonable policies. Your voice could be the one that decides which way the law goes.

Photo credit: Just chaos

Stephanie Feldstein is a Change.org Editor who has been part of the animal welfare and rescue community for over a decade, and most recently worked for an environmental organization.
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