The cost of BSL to people, pets, and the human-canine bond: Dog Breed Specific Legislation Berkey AVMA 2009
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New research exposes high cost to taxpayers for breed regulation: Best Friends BDL Fiscal Impact Calculator
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| The Lawyer’s Guide to Dangerous Dog Issues . . . from the American Bar Association |
| This one-of-a-kind book discusses the handling of “dangerous dogs” by the law and private associations. Today, many dogs are deemed dangerous, not on the traits of the individual animal, but by breed alone. The authors explain why breed discrimination is immoral, unfair, and ineffective, and discuss progressive approaches to better handle reckless owners and their dogs, and share strategies for prosecuting and defending dangerous dog cases.Topics include an overview of ordinances targeting reckless owners, the concept of canine profiling, the constitutionality of breed-specific legislation, enforcing and defending dangerous dog laws, and information on dangerous dog registries and hearings. You’ll discover how to use witnesses including victims, animal control officers, physicians and animal behaviorists, and find a primer on homeowners insurance and dog ownership. The book also delves into breed discrimination by homeowner associations and zoning boards.While there is nothing wrong with laws restricting vicious dogs, to have a dog seized or destroyed solely on the basis of its breed flies in the face of common decency. Be ready for the expanding field of animal law with this unique and informative book on dangerous dog issues. TO ORDER YOUR COPY DIRECTLY FROM THE BAR ASSOCIATION, click on the link below:http://www.abanet.org/abastore/index.cfm?section=main&fm=Product.AddToCart&pid=5190448 |
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All Bark and Fiscal Bite—Are Breed-Discriminatory Laws Effective?
by Ledy VanKavage http://www.abanet.org/govpub/sampleart.html
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12 states currently have laws on their books that preempt local governments from passing costly and ineffective breed specific regulations: California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota,New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia.
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Breed discriminatory laws do not make communities safer.
- According to a report released by the Toronto Humane Society, the province of Ontario has just as many dog bites now as it had before it enacted breed discriminatory regulation.
- After Winnipeg, Manitoba passed breed specific regulation, dog bites went up!
- A study in Spain comparing the total of dog bites reported for the period five years before breed regulations were enacted with the period five years after revealed no reduction.
- After Denver, Colorado enacted its breed ban, its citizens continued to suffer a higher rate of hospitalization for dog bite injury than Colorado’s breed-neutral counties in Colorado.
- In Omaha, Nebraska, reports of dog bites were declining until breed regulations were enacted. Then bite reports started to rise.
In the United Kingdom, almost 20 years after Parliament passed breed specific regulations, reports of serious incidents involving dogs have continued to increase.
Breed discriminatory laws are being repealed.
- Delta, Vancouver, British Columbia is in the process of repealing its breed legislation
- In 2008, the Netherlands set aside its breed ban because it had done nothing to reduce dog bites.
- In 2009, Italy scrapped a dangerous breeds list that was 17 breeds long, in favor of laws holding owners responsible. Health Undersecretary Francesca Martini said: “. . . the previous laws had no scientific foundation. Dangerous breeds do not exist.”
- The German state of Lower Saxony repealed its breed discriminatory laws after standardized temperament tests showed that dogs of the targeted breeds were no more likely to show inappropriate aggressive behavior than Golden Retrievers.
A breed-neutral model for responsible pet ownership has been successful.
- For all of 2009, Calgary, Alberta, population 1.065 million, had reports of only 159 dog bites. No city with breed discriminatory legislation, in Europe or North America, has a comparable record of safety.
Denver, Colorado: How effective is Denver’s 19 year breed ban? 
Denver Selective-counting-and-the-cost to dogs and people.
Miami-Dade, Florida: How effective is Miami-Dade’s two decade-old breed ban? 
Miami-Dade
The United Kingdom- RSPCA Back Calls for Immediate End to the Dangerous Dog Act (BSL) Dangerous-dog-breakthrough
Spain- Study on Results of the Dangerous Dog Act: Spain-dangerous-dog-act
Scotland- Study on Results of Breed Specific Legislation: klaassen1-scotland4 and Klaassen2-scotland1
Germany - Temperament tests contribute to repeal of breed specific regulations in Lower Saxony. The results, published in 2008 in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior, showed no significant difference between the regulated dogs and the volunteered Golden Retrievers with respect to aggressive behavior.
Aggression and dogs No significant differences found between breeds
National Canine Research Council
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