Have you heard of BSL – breed specific legislation? Any law designed to place restrictions on the ownership of certain breeds of dogs can be considered BSL.
What dogs are affected? Commonly restricted breeds include:
- Pit bulls
- Rottweilers
- German shepherds
- Chow chows
- Dobermans
- Huskies
- Boxers
The most common kind of BSL bans dogs of a certain breed from an area — most of this type of breed specific legislation is on a city basis, not a county-wide or state-wide basis. All dogs of the banned breed must be removed from the area or euthanized. Sometimes, dogs of the banned breed who already live there are “grandfathered” in and protected, but new pets may not be brought into the area.
Other BSL may require certain breeds to be muzzled in public or remain on the owner’s property at all times — that means no walks, no trips to the park, nothing. Some laws require owners of particular breeds to carry insurance.
So what’s the problem with breed specific legislation?
- It treats all owners — responsible or abusive or loving or neglectful — the same.
- Responsible dog owners may be driven away from owning a particular banned breed because of extra costs, fees, and restrictions.
- Irresponsible owners and criminals will ignore the laws and do as they please.
- It requires all dogs to be classified as a particular breed. This can be difficult when you’ve got a mixed breed dog. Some dogs are more one thing than another, but some are just mutts.
- Restricting “pit bulls” is dangerous territory. A lot of dogs have a similar look: wide head, broad chest, and short fur. Our local animal control officer thought my Lally was a pit bull. She’s a boxer/shar-pei mix.
- The dog’s owner is responsible for proving that their dog is not whatever breed is being banned. This is a kind of “guilty before proven innocent” approach — asking owners to prove the dog is NOT a banned breed.
- Asking animal control agencies to uphold BSL takes away time and effort from far more serious problems like animal neglect and animal abuse cases.
- When a breed is banned in a particular area, the shelters can fill up with dogs who have been forced out of their homes.
- BSL doesn’t really reduce the number of dog bites or dog attacks in an area. Dog bites are committed by more than just the “dangerous” breeds! A 2002 list of severe animal attacks in Texas included “dangerous” breeds like pit bulls and German shepherds, family dogs like Labrador retrievers, and even toy dogs like Chihuahuas!