Pit bulls banned in NSW

[RSbunny]

Well the government announced last night that after two attacks on the weekend (that were from cross breeds, not pure bred pit bulls) that they are introducing a new law that bans all pit bulls in NSW (the state I live in) They're not even allowing people to protest the decision, it's final and that's that.
Under the new law you will not be able to breed, give away or hold an unneutered/unspeyed dog. So they aren't making current pit bull owners get rid of their dogs, but this is the last generation of pitbulls in NSW. Any pitbulls in existence have to be neutered/speyed.
They are banning American Pit Bull Terriers, Pit Bull Terriers, Argentinian fighting dogs and two other breeds that I can't remember (the other dogs are really rare in Aus so the talk is all on the pit bulls). Thankfully it has not been extended to the Staffordshire's so Biscuit and her breed are safe but it really saddens me.
One of the attacks on the weekend was by dogs who had attacked before...I don't get why the government didn't do something about it the first time, but now they are just banning the whole breed.
A lot of people are upset about it (it's been the talk on the radio all morning and I haven't heard one person say it's the right thing to do) but basically we have our hands tied, the government is refusing to listen.
I had to break the news to Alex last night, cause he wanted to own an american pitbull after Biscuit had passed and I was hesitant because of the strict laws the state has on them anyway but now they won't even be in existence.
I really hope this is where it stops...I don't think people realise that if they ban one breed they are likely to continue banning breeds if they feel that this ban is a success (I'm sure that people will just own them and not register them). When they talk about the 'dangerous' breeds on the news they are showing a pitbull, german shephard and a rottweiller so I have a feeling that they may be the next to go (Satffy's are adored in Aus and not deemed dangerous at all, which is funny considering they are a relative of the pitbull).
Anyway just wanted to share.

[Jade]

What a shame.

[Amethystbelle]

Thats what happened over here in the UK we banned Pitbulls about 10 years ago now and the breed has all but died out although as we have no licensing on dogs in this country i'm sure theres a few thats slipped through the loop hole out there But i have to say we haven't banned any other breeds of dog but certain breeds do get a lot of bad press and its hard to find places where you can take them as deemed dangerous breed such as the German Shepard. I think its a shame for any dog breed to be banned completely i think with proper laws in force and certain legalisations then there would be no need for it

[Millimi]

That's so sad. I think one day in the future all pit bulls will be gone. And they'll probably be remembered as a terribly agressive breed.

[Padfoot]

Quote: Originally Posted by Amethystbelle Thats what happened over here in the UK we banned Pitbulls about 10 years ago now and the breed has all but died out although as we have no licensing on dogs in this country i'm sure theres a few thats slipped through the loop hole out there

You know what's really sad? That the people that are willing to break the law and own one of these dogs, are the same willing to break the law and put them in fights... they are the same people that practices poor breeding programs and breed for the wrong purposes (making money, getting good fight dogs, ect.) and.. they are the same people that will make the breed even more dangerous and give them more bad rep. I don't think that people that are responsible pet owners will risk it, taking in an ilegal pet, loving it and then have it taken away. People that will risk it will be the ones that think about the dogs as replaceable property.

[Nikki6496]

9 times out of 10 its the owner of the dog not the dog itself. Its how the dog was raised. If you raise a dog to be aggressive then it will be aggressive. If you raise it to be a good dog then it will. Banning one dog is just going to make those same people choose a different breed and bring it up the same way they did their American Pit. Some people just shouldn't own pets. I think the government should ban the owners from having pets not the breed. Especially if the dog has attacked before, thats not the dogs fault. Everyone new he was aggresssive yet the owners still allowed that pup to be in a situation where he could attack someone.

[Amethystbelle]

Quote: Originally Posted by Padfoot You know what's really sad? That the people that are willing to break the law and own one of these dogs, are the same willing to break the law and put them in fights... they are the same people that practices poor breeding programs and breed for the wrong purposes (making money, getting good fight dogs, ect.) and.. they are the same people that will make the breed even more dangerous and give them more bad rep. I don't think that people that are responsible pet owners will risk it, taking in an ilegal pet, loving it and then have it taken away. People that will risk it will be the ones that think about the dogs as replaceable property.

I totally agree with you and you have raised good points there The UK government put a ban on them as they had tried everything else and this was the last step they could take to try and control the situation but as we have no licensing theres no way of proving unless you are reported to the police or the RSPCA that you are keeping such dogs. And then its a fine and a tap on the wrist and if your unlucky the dog might be seized and taken and destroyed or held for the rest of its life in a centre as its illegal to rehome them. The act that was passed stipulated like the Australian one that these dogs had to all be neutered or spayed, insured and kept on a lead and muzzled at all times in public places or they could except token compensation from the government and have their dog destroyed. I agree true followers of the breed will have abided by these rules as there was public out cry at the ban (as 3 other breeds where also banned that where deemed dangerous) its just the said few who will break the law as the dogs are just money making machines to them and are replaceable. Lets face it 9 out of 10 of these dogs aren't aggressive they just get bad rep and its a shame that its the dogs that have to suffer

I was reading an article recently on recent new dog bans in Germany where a lot of breeds are banned! Apparently it goes on areas so you could cross the street and your dogs illegal on the other side it said in one area alone over 16 breeds of dog where banned! It stated Staffordshire bull terriers were banned completely in Germany as well as Pit Bulls as they have been classed as an extremely dangerous dog This apparently could also affect the rest of the European Union as countries such as Sweden, Italy and Spain are also considering following suit which will be a very sad day for dog lovers, breeders and true enthusiasts alike!

[Padfoot]

Here in PR pitbulls and chow chows are banned. I'm not sure if there's another breed banned too... but if one of these 2 breeds reaches a shelter it has to be destroyed... still, I know that there are a lot of people that have them and breed them. Even, not too long ago they took around 20something pitbulls from a guy. A male, a couple of females and a ton of puppies. He said that they were his beloved pets and that he loved them so much and asked to have them back. Authorities where going to give him a chance, a permit to keep them and return the spayed/neutered dogs to him, cause the dogs were not aggressive and such... The guy refused to have them back fixed, so the dogs where destroyed. 8(
Now, the bans on these breeds were made many years ago, when there were a couple of consecutive attacks from the dogs (or similar breeds, who knows!). It's been a long time since a pitbull attack has been reperted... however, recently (as recent as a couple of months back) there have been 2 attacks by packs of stray/feral dogs (mixed breeds). It's ironic, there was a report made by a latin tv show about the problem of strays in PR.... the governor was interviewed and he said that he didn't thought there was a problem with stray animals here (that's the excuse to do nothing about it) and the government was outraged that the host of the tv show, that is puertorican, had made such a report and aired it all over the US and latin america (I posted the translation in english here, search for Primer Impacto or something like that on the dog forum if you want to see). Just a couple of weeks after the governor said that there was no such problem with stray animals here, a pack of stray dogs attack and kill a boy (I think he was 5-7 years old). The second attack, I think the boy survived... but don't remember well. Now, it would be kinda funny if the government decided to ban mutts cause they are dangerous.

[RSbunny]

The sad part is that in 18 years there are no recorded incidents of a pure bred pit bull attacking in Australia...there are incidents of the APBT but not the pit bull terrier, which is what they are banning. They just aren't thinking. The RSPCA has come out and said that it will fix nothing cause any dog can be made to be aggressive if taught to be.
They are saying they are not banning any other dogs cause pitbulls are the only breed that can kill a human! What a load of crap!!! I don't even know of any cases where someone has died from a pit attack in Aus and I do know of a labrador that lives next door to a day care centre that mauled a 20 kilo dog to death. Tell me how that dog couldn't get out and get one of the children playing on the other side of the fence? The ranger did nothing with that case cause it's 'just a lab.' I know pitbulls have really strong jaws but you tell me how an extremely aggressive rottweiller couldn't knock over and maul a small child to death with their strength? I'm not saying rottweiller's are bad...I'm totally against this ban, but the government obviously hasn't done their research.
On Sunday when the boy was attacked the father asked the government to ban pitbulls and the government said they won't be doing it. Then two days later they announce they are banning them! How on earth can they make a decision in two days?

[Millimi]

Pit bulls are the only dogs that can kill?!?! They're kidding, right? Any dog could kill if they wanted to...That's like saying only Asian people of French people kill.

[Formula86]

this is why i hate most government people.

[pihlaja]

Politicians are doing this because they believe it will win them approval and votes among people who a) probably don't like big dogs or dogs at all and b) people with small children. It's all about votes, IMO. They don't care about the actual facts of the matter or what's right and wrong. They just want to votes.

It's very said that ignorance runs abound.

[Mygala]

It's much easier for the government to ban a breed than to set up some sort of regulatory system for owners. That type of system could impact lots of people, and no one wants the additional hassle. There aren't that many PB owners so they get the "short straw" as it were..

PB's are an easy target because they have been villified in the media and are at the top of the list put out by the CDC on Dog Bite Related Human Fatalities (DBRHF). The only way to fight something like this is to change the public image of Pits, and get some science on their side too.

I've never seen any real cogent, intelligent, ...and organized effort on behalf of the pitbull owners. They are all nice people, I'm sure, ..but to change public opinion (and hence the politician's opinion) is probably going to take a professional media campaign or something of that sort.

Pitbulls have to change their image with the public, or they are just going to see things get worse and worse...

JMO

[meggs521]

That is really sad and I don't really think it's so much the fault of the breed as it is of the people. I've never really been a big fan of pit bulls but I still don't agree with banning them. I think one of the big problems is the media (like someone else said). What kind of dogs do people have be the vicious dogs in movies? A lot of the time they're pits or rotties (and other breeds) and because of the movie people that want aggressive dogs go out and get these breeds because they think they'll be just like the movie dogs and then they raise them to be that way. And then we hear news reports and get even worse impressions of the animals. It's really sad.

Poor doggies.

I remember this dog Syrus at the Humane Society a while back. That poor dog was there for AT LEAST 7 months (they didn't put him down because he was pure). He was there so long because so many people were afraid of his breed, even though everyone that worked there said he was the sweetest dog they had ever met.

[whinnie-boo]

I am a very Proud Pit-Bull owner and my dogs have been banned in the Province I live in. What I have to subject my poor harmless children too, because of the media hype about them being evil, is uncalled for.
I would never ever fear that they would hurt anyone or anything for that matter, they have always been well behaved. I do not let them away with anything for that reason.
It is not the breed, it is the owners. I've done my best to raise them properly, and I am very proud of how they have turned out. They could be poster children for why not to ban Pit-bulls.

They should Ban bad owners, license the owners as opposed to the dogs, and require those who chose this breed to pass a class or test of some sort. Pit-bulls are the greatest breed in the world but, I agree they are not for everyone, especially those too soft at heart.
My girls can melt my heart with just a look, but when I have to, I can be stern and stick to what I must do to correct the behaviour.