Breed-Specific Legislation Essay

BSL stands for “Breed-Specific Legislation”, and the only problem with this is that it bases its reasoning off of the looks of the animal. Legislation is beginning to be passed in different parts of the world, that discriminates dogs just because of their looks. There are many different opinions about this and its effectiveness. The main reason that cities and states pass this law is because there are often multiple cases of dog attacks, and BSL is supposed to improve public safety. Consequently, there are proven facts and instances where BSL has actually not done anything at all but kill and outlaw a breed of dog. I honestly think that it is amazing that BSL is still even an option to obtaining stronger public safety, mainly because of

In the 1980’s, the targeted breed was the Rottweiler, and from the 1990’s to now, the Pitbull has been the targeted breed. A major factor that has influenced BSL, is the popularity of dog fighting. The history of the Pitbull explains why they are such a wanted breed for dog fighting. At their origin they were bred to participate in bull fighting or bear baiting. They were bred to make a very athletic dog that was also very intelligent. Although they do not have the strongest bite force of domesticated dogs, they also do not have the price tag like the german shepherd or rottweiler. Many breeders like to breed animals for money and do not care who the animals are raised by; this usually causes dogs to end up in the wrong hands. A great alternative to BSL is to make it illegal to breed dogs without proper licensing. Across the nation animal shelters are flooded with unwanted or homeless dogs, 74% of them being pitbulls. It is strongly believed, by some, that animals are not born mean they are made mean. Many people like to jump to the conclusion that Pitbulls and similar dogs, are naturally mean, but in reality they make the best family pets if treated