[Marty]

NY,USA -- Concerned pit bull owners are worried that they could lose their beloved pets because of a proposal that would regulate breeds considered to be dangerous. In New York State, dogs such as pit bulls are protected by an existing law (specifically, Paragraph 107, Section 7 of Agriculture and Markets law) but recently, New York City Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Queens) is looking to reverse this regulation.

Nancy E. Hassel, founding member of the Dog Federation of New York, is leading an effort to uphold the current law and says "the proposed ban is targeting pit bulls in NYC, but would in turn affect the entire state."

Councilman Vallone wants to reverse New York state’s long-standing law that makes breed-specific legislation illegal. Says Hassel, "This means that no municipality can enact dangerous dog laws based on breeds. NYS has protected caring dog owners of all breeds from negative breed profiling for many years."

Such breed-specific laws, according to Hassel, profile by targeting dogs of a particular breed, regardless of the owner’s level of responsibility and compliance within the current laws. "Both the U.S. government’s Centers for Disease Control and the American Veterinary Medical Association oppose breed profiling. Spokespeople for both organizations are quick to point out that there is no evidence to indicate that such measures do anything to improve public safety," she adds.

If said ban goes through, "Dog owners could be forced to surrender their dogs to authorities if their town or city bans them. Family pets could be ripped from homes, put to sleep or sent to medical facilities for experimentation, and shelters would be overrun with dogs relinquished by families that could not keep them," explains Hassel.

Even if a particular breed is not banned outright, dogs and owners face increased housing discrimination, difficulties obtaining homeowners insurance and may have to comply with municipal restrictions such as muzzling in public, and dangerous dog signage. If the state law is overturned, individual municipalities will be able to pass local laws against whatever breeds they choose.

Due to the pit bull’s great strength, they have been misused by being inbred for aggression and raised in hostile environments to be used in criminal activities. But Vallone’s opponents argue that type of rearing would achieve the same result of aggressive characteristics in most any other animal.

Concerned citizens can write letters to legislators to let them know that they are opposed to this change to the existing NYS law.

"Discrimination is wrong. It’s wrong for people, and it’s wrong for dogs," maintains Hassel.

Contact:

Nancy E. Hassel, Founding Member, Dog Federation of New York
Phone: 631-283-1610
Nancy1272@yahoo.com

New York City Councilmember
Peter Vallone Jr.
Phone: 212-788-6963 (City Hall)
718-274-4500 (District Office)
vallonejr@council.nyc.ny.us

http://www.longislandpress.com/?cp=1...cle&a_id=11767

[JoeFeezy]

Great. I'm glad we have people like this supporting our breed.

[Suki]

"But Vallone’s opponents argue that type of rearing would achieve the same result of aggressive characteristics in most any other animal".

I think so, too.



"Discrimination is wrong. It’s wrong for people, and it’s wrong for dogs," maintains Hassel.


Amen!


Hopefully the regulations will not be imposed and we can all, as "pit bull" owners stay say "I love New York", ....
time will tell! fingers crossed!!!