Tuesday, May 27, 2014

FIGHT AGAINST BSL



Excellent suggestions for how to write a letter to officials expressing your opposition to BSL.
http://www.defendingdog.com/id2.html

American Humane Association (AHA) opposes legislation that seeks to ban a particular breed of dog. Such laws provide a false sense of security as all dogs, when improperly treated or trained, can present a risk to public health. Breed-specific legislation that outlaws specific breeds of dogs can increase the danger to the community by spawning black market interest, indiscriminate and irresponsible breeding practices, and subsequent overpopulation issues.
http://www.americanhumane.org/assets/pdfs/animals/au-animal-welfare-position-statements.pdf

The American Kennel Club (AKC) strongly opposes any legislation that determines a dog to be “dangerous” based on specific breeds or phenotypic classes of dog
http://www.akc.org/pdfs/canine_legislation/PBLEG2.pdf

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) advocates the implementation of a community dog bite prevention program encompassing media and educational outreach in conjunction with the enactment, and vigorous enforcement, of breed-neutral laws that focus on the irresponsible and dangerous behavior of individual guardians and their dogs
http://www.aspca.org/about-us/policy-positions/breed-specific-legislation-1.aspx


The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) supports dangerous animal legislation by state, county, or municipal governments provided that legislation does not refer to specific breeds or classes of animals.
http://www.avma.org/issues/policy/dangerous_animal_legislation.asp

The Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) opposes any law that deems a dog as dangerous or vicious based on appearance, breed or phenotype. Canine temperaments are widely varied, and behavior cannot be predicted by physical features such as head shape, coat length, muscle to bone ratio, etc. The only predictor of behavior is behavior.
http://www.apdt.com/about/ps/breed_specific_legis.aspx

Best Friends Animal Society is working throughout the country to help pit bulls, who are battling everything from a media-driven bad reputation to legislation designed to bring about their extinction. Best Friends hopes to end discrimination against all dogs. Dogs are individuals and should be treated as individuals.
http://network.bestfriends.org/initiatives/pitbulls/default.aspx

Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), opposes legislation aimed at eradicating or strictly regulating dogs based solely on their breed for a number of reasons
http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/facts/statement_dangerous_dogs_breed_specific_legislation.html

National Animal Control Association (NACA). Regading extended animal vontrol concerns – Dangerous/Vicious Animals (2002). "Dangerous and/or vicious animals should be labeled as such as a result of their actions or behavior and not because of their breed."
http://www.nacanet.org/guidelines/Guidelines%20Dangerous_Vicious%20Animals.pdf

The Centers for Disease Control, Injury Prevention and Control (CDC) - "Breed-specific legislation does not address the fact that a dog of any breed can become dangerous when bred or trained to be aggressive. From a scientific point of view, we are unaware of any formal evaluation of the effectiveness of breed-specific legislation in preventing fatal or nonfatal dog bites. An alternative to breed-specific legislation is to regulate individual dogs and owners on the basis of their behavior."
http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Dog-Bites/dogbite-factsheet.html