Banning of Pit Bulldogs

Banning of Pit Bulldogs

One of the most popular dogs owned by dog owners is the pit bulldog. They are said to have a friendly temperament and is remarked for being attached to their owners. Pit bull dogs are good pets, but they can cause severe problems if they are not trained correctly. Even with their friendly attitude towards human, they are aggressive and defensive towards their territory. This tends to threaten the society when considering how to control the pit bulls of mauling incidents. Pit bulldogs and other attack dogs should be banned to keep people safe from dog mauls in populated areas.

Pit bull dogs are known as fighting dogs. Because of their aggressiveness and strength, they were used in dog fighting, which was a popular sport in the past. They were admired for tenacity, physical courage, and their tolerance of pain. With these strengths, they were able to take down other dogs that were many times their size (Stahlkuppe 10). According to a Wikipedia article, “these dogs' purpose inspired the widespread practice of the bloody sports of bull-baiting and bear-baiting” (Wikipedia). The bullbaiting sport involved the bulldog fighting against other animals, such as horses, cows, lions, and even men. By 1835, the sport was banned and outlawed due to much opposition from the people. After that dog fighting was a new sport and was a success. The dog fighting sport gained popularity amongst dog owners and people. Pit bulldogs, similar to many dog breeds, are very defensive to counter aggression towards their territory. Dog fighting has now been illegal for over a hundred years and is rarely seen in anyplace.

Many people come to believe that most dogs are friendly and sweet. Yet, it is unbelievable when a dog does something out of the extraordinary that would come to a shock. According to a San Francisco Chronicle article, a 12-year-old boy named Nicky Faibish was mauled to death by his pit bulldogs. These bulldogs were described as friendly and kind by his neighbors, who undoubtedly were shocked by the bestial actions of the dogs. Many people are outraged by this horrific behavior of the dogs that unknowingly were a family dog to the boy. Some issues of this devastation had arisen whether banning these attack dogs would be a good solution (Bulwa).

Over the past few years, pit bulldogs have been a great concern because of the dog mauling incidents. In the San Francisco Chronicle, it revealed that Denver had passed laws to control certain breeds in dogs to ensure the safety for the people. Canada as well took action. They decided to ban the pit bulldogs in their province in August 2005. Hopefully, by banning the pit bulldogs, there will be less dog mauling devastations in the neighborhood where many people live.

Dog mauling is quite common, but it is rarely seen that people are mauled to death by dogs. In the statistics shown by CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), “of the 199 dog-attack fatalities in the USA between 1979 and 1996, dogs identified as pit bulls were responsible for 60 attacks—just under a third.” Compared to the second most dangerous group were Rottweilers, which were only responsible for 29 attacks. This had raised issues, causing a turbulent disturbance in the public. Some jurisdictions were placed and questions about owning a pit bulldog were regulated (Wikipedia).

1981 to 1992

Husky-type 8%

Rottweiler 8%

German shepherd 13%

Pit bull-type 34%

Source: Centers for Disease Control.

1993 to 1998

Pit bull-type 29%

Rottweiler 44%

Source: Centers for Disease Control

1999 to 2005

Rottweilers 17%

Pit bull-type 31%

Source: Chronicle analysis of National Canine Research Foundation

data

The Chronicle

Fig. 1. Fatal dog bites during different years. Source: McCormick, Erin, and Todd Wallack. “Data on pit bulls may be skewed by popularity – Rottweilers were deadliest dogs for much of 1990s.” San Francisco Chronicle on the Web 03 Jul. 2005. 09 Jul. 2005 .

Pit bulldogs are not like other dogs. They are considered