Stop BSL in Hall County GA!!

BSL DOES NOT WORK!!! It is ineffective, expensive, and unenforceable.

Breed-Specific Legislation
What Is Breed-Specific Legislation?
Breed-specific legislation (BSL) is the banning or restriction of specific breeds of dogs considered “dangerous” breeds, such as pit bull breeds, Rottweilers, and German shepherds. Many states, counties, and municipal governments are turning to legislation that targets specific breeds as an answer to dog attacks.

BSL Does Not Work
While supporters of BSL argue that the only way to be safe from dog bites is to eradicate “dangerous breeds” from the community, there is little evidence that supports BSL as an effective means of reducing dog bites and dog attacks. On the contrary, studies have shown that it is not the breeds themselves that are dangerous, but unfavorable situations that are creating dangerous dogs. Often, the very research that some cite as “support” for BSL actually argues for alternative, more effective means. Examples include:

Breeds of Dogs Involved in Fatal Dog Attacks in the U.S. Between 1979 and 1998
Fatal Dog Attacks, 1989-1994
Dog-Bite-Related Fatalities - United States, 1995-1996
Enforcement of BSL
Breed Identification
According to the American Pet Products Association, out of 73 million pet dogs, 31 million are classified by their owners as “mutts”. While almost all BSL refers to “pit bulls,” many breeds of dogs have the facial and body characteristics of a “pit bull,” but are actually not pit bulls at all, including Labrador retrievers, bulldogs, Rhodesian Ridgebacks, mastiffs, and many others.

Cost
Enforcing breed-specific legislation can be burdensome and costly. BSL is enforced by animal control agencies on tight budgets, expanding their duties without necessarily expanding their budget. Additionally, many rural areas do not have funding to establish and effectively run an animal control division. Costs can include additional animal control staff to enforce the law, the kenneling of dogs awaiting breed determination and/or appeal, court time and costs, expert testimony, and veterinary care. As an example, one county in Maryland spent more than $560,000 maintaining pit bulls (not including payroll, cross-agency costs, and utilities), while fees generated only $35,000. As a result of such costs, many cities have considered repealing or have repealed breed-specific legislation. In the Maryland case, the task force found that while the county spends more than a quarter-million dollars each year to enforce the ban, “public safety has not improved as a result [of the ban].”

Alternatives to BSL
Legislation targeting specific breeds simply does not work because dog attacks result from multiple factors, not just a simple breakdown of breed culpability. Studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control, the American Veterinary Medical Association, and The National Canine Research Council, as well as independent researchers, all agree that BSL is not productive. They do, however, identify four key points that could reduce the number of dog attacks:

1. Education
Children are statistically the most at risk for dog bites. Unsupervised newborns were 370 times more likely than an adult to be killed by a dog. Eighty-two percent of dog bites treated in emergency rooms involved children under 15 years old. Adult supervision plays a key role in prevention. Children who understand how to act around dogs, how to play with dogs, when to leave dogs alone, and how to properly meet a dog are much less likely to be bitten. To address this need, American Humane has created American Humane KIDS: Kids Interacting with Dogs Safely™, a dog-bite prevention program specifically for children ages 4 to 7. By educating children at home and in school, we can drastically reduce the instances of dog bites.

2. Enforcement
Communities can greatly reduce the number of dog bites by enacting stronger animal control laws and by providing better resources for enforcing existing laws. Examples include leash, animal-at-large laws, and licensing laws, as well as mandatory spay/neuter laws for shelters. Additional measures include increasing and enforcing penalties for violations, targeting chronically irresponsible owners, imposing serious penalties for bites that occur in the context of another infraction (particularly a violation of leash laws), and prohibiting chaining or tethering for excessive periods of time. Chaining and/or neglect results in anxious, lonely, bored, under-stimulated, untrained, unsocialized, isolated dogs that are much more likely to react aggressively because of their fear.

However, enacting more laws and strengthening laws are not the only answers. Animal control facilities are already underfunded and understaffed, which makes enforcement of existing laws difficult. It is essential that legislators recognize the value of and need for animal control facilities and officers, and provide them with increased financial support and staffing to enforce these laws....