End BSL: Punish The Deed NOT The Breed!

BSL (Breed Specific Legislation) Isn't Just Bad For Pit Bulls & Pit Bull Owners – It's Bad For Everyone

JUST IMAGINE:
Today, someone came into your home to remove your dog. Nothing you said or did allowed you to keep him or her. Depending on where you live, you don't know the fate of your dog after this removal. You may have been given only a few days to relocate outside of your city or find a new family for your dog. Your dog may be moved outside of the city — again, you have no say. And in the worst case, your dog was killed. Why? Because of what he or she looked like
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This is Breed Specific Legislation.

As BSL began taking hold in the United States in the late 1970s and 1980s and the media sensationalized dogfighting and dog attacks, it led to an increase in those who wanted Pit Bull–type dogs for the wrong reasons. Mitzi Bolaños, the Executive Director of StubbyDog stated: "This just enticed more criminals to want them — to keep them chained up as yard dogs, with no positive human interaction, for 'protection,' for gambling (which meant fighting), and the cycle just continued."

It's this type of environment that can lead to dog bites — not the breed of dog. Deirdre Franklin, founder of Pinups For Pitbulls, said how responsible dog ownership can help reduce dog bites and attacks.

The focus needs to shift to the basic reasons that dog bites exist: tethered/chained dogs, dogs at–large, unattended children, and focus on spaying and neutering. These are easy areas to target. These are not expensive areas to target. We have over-complicated a very simple issue.

Because BSL does not aim to promote responsible dog ownership but rather ban dogs simply based on looks, it's been proven time and time again to be ineffective. In fact, as Bolaños pointed out, Ontario, Canada "has had a ban on Pit Bull-type dogs since 2005 and has not seen any reduction in dog bites."

Franklin shared: "The key argument here that there is not a single peer-reviewed study out there proving that BSL has ever worked. Not one! There are 17,000+ articles for BSL and in newspapers regurgitating the same nonsense that is not based in fact, [and there is] not one science–based, fact–based article!"

By being informed citizens, responsible dog owners and active in the political process, we hold the power to create more fair and safe communities not just for ourselves but for dogs who are, as Bolaños describes them, "everyday family dogs." Franklin shared.

It is now time to end Breed Specific Legislation.

Punish The Deed NOT The Breed.

To help raise awareness to the injustice of BSL please visit the Pit Bull store at https://www.teezily.com/stores/pit-bulls-rule