[theber9]

BSL takes responsibility from the owners and places it on the dog. Instead of the owner getting in trouble for mishandling and abusing the dog, the dog is deemed vicious and flawed. “Breed Specific Bans target an entire phenotype in order to eliminate a handful of animals that have been poorly socialized under irresponsible ownership.” (Kansas City Star, the (MO); 08/18/2006) BSL makes responsible and caring dog owners pay for the wrong doings of other irresponsible owners who should not be allowed to handle any dog. People who fight dogs (an estimated 1-2% of owners) are usually involved with many other illegal dealings such as drugs, guns and gangs and will either ignore the law or simply switch to another dog breed.
BSL holds no exceptions. Where BSL is implemented, it affects ALL dogs of the named breed. Any service dog such as assistance for the handicapped, search and rescue dogs, drug sniffing dogs, and/or police dogs are all affected. Just think if you were handicapped and you found the perfect dog that helped you through every day and because of things that have nothing to do with your dog the dog warden came and took the dog and put it to sleep because of BSL. It’s heart breaking.
The biggest problem with BSL is that it is ineffective. “Passage of laws that are only enforced through complaints cause two problems; 1) they create disrespect for the law if authorities require compliance through complaints, and 2) they provide ammunition for neighborhood feuds.” (www.pbrc.net) According to Wikipedia “In 1996, 14.6% of animal control agencies reported local problems with dog fighting by 2004, the number of agencies reporting problems with dog fighting skyrocketed to 29%” The Kansas City Star states “following the breed ban 1n 1990, bites from dogs defined as ‘pit bull type’ dropped from 28 in 1989 to 1 in 2003- but bites from other breeds have risen across the same period of time including those by Rottwielers and Akitas.” Almost all animal welfare workers agree that BSL does not work. “Jamie Troester, a humane officer states “We are against breed-specific laws because research shows these laws are ineffective. The problem is not one with a specific breed of dog but rather with irresponsible or criminal owners and breeders.” (Daily Press (Victorville, CA); 01/03/2007)
The dog that is targeted the most in BSL is the American Pit Bull Terrier. For the purposes of this argument I am only referring to a purebred APBT and not to the many mixes and “pit bulls” which is a term loosely used to describe a variety of mixes of dog.
“It is true that the APBT was originally bred to fight- other dogs. Dogs that showed human aggression were culled- that means they were euthanized and never bred from.” (www.dogwatch.net) This is a practice that may seem cruel but is needed in order to keep a breed healthy. “Ethical breeders of pure, kennel-club-registered APBTs have spent decades (and many, many dog generations) transforming these former combatants into loving stable pets. In almost EVERY case of a so-called “pit bull” attack, the offender is actually a mixed breed mutt of intermittent breed origin.” (Toronto Star (Canada); 02/13/2006) According to the Alfons Estelt of the American Temperament Test Society, Inc. temperament evaluations of APBT shows that this breed has a very high passing rate of 95%. The average passing rate for 121 breeds of dog in the tests: 77%.
There are many myths that surround the APBT, One being that they are vicious and unfriendly which is disproved by the temperament test. Another myth is that APBT