breed-specific legislation Archives

Study Proves the Breed Doesn’t Really Affect Dog Behavior

“Blame the deed, not the breed!” For years, this has been the mantra of those of us who oppose breed-specific legislation (BSL) — unfair laws that single out dogs based solely on their breeds or looks.

A new study published in the journal Science now confirms what we knew all along: A dog’s breed is not helpful in determining how that particular dog will behave. (Told ya!)

To come to this conclusion, researchers sequenced the DNA of 2,155 dogs and also surveyed 18,385 dog owners through Darwin’s Ark, the world’s largest pet citizen science project. The study was diverse, including mixed breeds as well as purebreds.

The purpose of the study was to find out if dog breeds have certain behaviors and personalities. “The answer: not really – it turns out that breed really is, for the most part, just ‘skin deep,'” writes one of the researchers, Elinor Karlsson, director of the Vertebrate Genomics Group at the Broad Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University. “There is so much variation in behavior and personality in every single dog breed, it’s impossible to accurately predict the behavior of any individual dog from its breed alone.”

None of a dog’s 11 genome regions that affect their behavior — such as whether they’re social or if they like to howl — were associated with a specific breed.

In fact, a dog’s breed has only a 9% effect on their behavior, according to the study. One example of the minor behavioral differences among breeds is that herding breeds are more likely to want to play with toys. “These differences can (sometimes) be traced back to the types of dogs used to start the breed, suggesting the behaviors are much older than the breeds,” Karlsson notes.

Unsurprisingly, the researchers also found zero evidence that dog breeds like Pit Bulls are inherently dangerous. Genetics do not impact a dog’s aggressiveness or the extent to which they can be provoked by stressful situations.

These findings provide even more evidence that BSL is ineffective and unfair. Fortunately, many cities, like Denver, have seen the light and no longer ban certain dogs.

To help Darwin’s Ark continue its efforts to improve the lives of dogs, you can participate and/or make a donation via its website.

Photo: ericaribeiro

Thank You, Overland Park! City Council Unanimously Ends Pit Bull Ban

Hooray! Yet another city has ended its unfair Pit Bull ban.

The City Council of Overland Park, Kansas, voted unanimously Monday night to stop punishing certain dogs based solely on their looks or the breed(s) they happen to be. Overland Park was the last city in the Kansas City metro area to continue practicing breed-specific legislation (BSL), which are unfair laws, including breed bans, that single out certain dogs.

The city council voted to remove any language that specifies Staffordshire Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers and American Pit Bull Terriers from its dangerous animal ordinance, as in the following example (yay!):

BSL has proven to be ineffective in accomplishing what it’s intended to do — increasing public safety — wherever it’s been enacted. It’s also very expensive to enforce. It’s also opposed by nearly every major animal welfare organization, including the ASPCA, AVMA, HSUS, etc.

Those are some very good reasons why there’s been a growing trend to end BSL around the country.

Prairie Village, another city in the Kansas City metro area, lifted its Pit Bull ban in February 2020.

In November 2020, Denver, which had one of the most notorious Pit Bull bans in the world, ended its 31-year ban, thanks to voters. Two months later, the city council of Aurora, the third-largest city in Colorado, decided to end its 15-year Pit Bull ban as well. And soon after that, Commerce City, Colo., also ended its Pit Bull ban.

Thank you, Overland Park City Council, for having the good wisdom to judge the deed, not the breed.

Photo: Those were my first two Pitties, Sophie and Larry, enjoying a mind meld back in the late 1990s.

Montreal SPCA Takes a Stand Against Proposed Pit Bull Ban

Breed-specific legislation (BSL), which includes Pit Bull bans, is very expensive to enforce and has not proven to increase public safety anywhere it’s been enacted. Yet for some reason, Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre thinks it’s a great idea and wants to enforce it in the city, starting in January 2017.

Almost all major animal welfare organizations, including the RSPCA, SPCA, Humane Society of the United States and more, are opposed to BSL because it punishes dogs based on their looks instead of placing responsibility where it belongs: on the dog’s owner.

The Montreal SPCA, which is the leading organization for animal welfare in Canada, also opposes BSL — so much so that it announced it will no longer provide dog-control services to the city if officials vote this month to ban Pit Bulls.

“We hope that the proposed animal control bylaw will not be adopted on Sept. 26 and that we will not have to alter the contracts we currently have with boroughs,” Alanna Devine, the Montreal SPCA’s director of animal advocacy, said in a statement.

“We’ll be forced eventually to euthanize hundreds of dogs in good health,” said Benoit Tremblay, the SPCA’s executive director.

Despite the Montreal SPCA’s stance, and the fact that more than 1,500 people have shown up at protests and over 21,000 people have signed a petition opposing it, the ban will likely be passed.

“The Coderre administration is moving forward with its balanced bylaw on animal control,” Anie Samson, the vice-chair of Montreal’s executive committee, told CBC News. “The safety of all our citizens is a priority for our administration.”

There is nothing “balanced” about an unfair bylaw that only punishes dogs because of the breed they happen to be.

Better Alternatives to BSL

The Montreal SPCA has a very helpful infographic on its website that should be reviewed closely by city officials (and anyone who thinks Pit Bulls are inherently dangerous). Instead of a breed ban, offficials should consider more effectively preventing dog bites by using these suggested alternatives instead:

Enforce existing laws requiring dogs to be on leash in public places
Enforce existing laws relating to the mandatory licensing and identification of dogs
Adopt laws that prohibit aversive training methods
Adopt laws that prohibit the use of guard dogs
Adopt laws that prohibit the permanent chaining of dogs
Adopt laws to regulate the breeding and sale of dogs

“Our mission is to save animals, to care for them, protect them from cruelty, and find them homes for life,” the Montreal SPCA wrote on its Facebook page. “We will not, due to biased criteria, euthanize dogs in perfect health who present no danger to the community.”

Merci beaucoup, Montreal SPCA.

Photo via Facebook

Thanks to Public Outcry, Louisiana Town Puts New Breed Ban on Hold

When the news spread over the weekend that Moreauville, La., officials had voted to ban all Pit Bulls and Rottweilers — and destroy any of these dogs who weren’t relocated by Dec. 1 — the backlash was immediate.

More than 215,000 people have signed a MoveOn.org petition asking officials to end the ban. It was started by Joanna Armand, whose Pit Bull, Zeus, acts as an unofficial therapy dog for her daughter, O’Hara Owens, who has severe neck problems.

Armand also created the Saving Zeus community page on Facebook, which has more than 30,000 “likes.”

Moreauville alderman Penn Lemoine told KALB Friday that if the public outcry against the ban was strong enough, it might be dropped.

He was true to his word. The Times-Picayune reported today that Lemoine said a special meeting will be held by Moreauville’s three aldermen and mayor to address the ban, which will likely be ended.

“It was a mistake,” Lemoine admitted. “And it’s got to be redone and reworded. And this Dec. 1 date is not going to happen.”

The ban was enacted because “vicious” Pit Bulls and Rottweilers were running in the streets, according to a letter sent to residents owning these breeds. Lemoine told KALB there had been dog attacks, although he said he didn’t know of any documented cases.

“We’ll get legal council to help us formulate something that’s going to try to keep the dogs off the street,” he told the Times-Picayune today.

Breed-specific legislation (BSL), which includes bans like these, is legal in some states, including Louisiana. But because it is so unfair — not to mention costly to enforce and proven to be ineffective in increasing public safety — it is opposed by President Obama and virtually all major animal welfare organizations: the ASPCA, AVMA, HSUS, etc., etc.

For these reasons, the trend has been to repeal useless bans instead of create them. For example, just last week a ban that had been enacted since 2004 in Pawtucket, R.I., was lifted by a superior court judge. About 100 happy Pit Bulls and their pet parents marched in a parade Saturday to celebrate.

Photo via Facebook

New Breed Ban Means Louisiana Family Must Give Up Dog or Else

Zeus acts as an unofficial therapy dog for his owner, O’hara Owens of Moreauville, La., who has neck problems and must use a wheelchair.

“I can sit here if I’m in pain. He comes up there and he notices it before I even make any noise,” Owens told KALB.

But Owens and her family may soon have to say goodbye to Zeus, who happens to be a Pit Bull. At a town council meeting in October, Moreauville officials voted to ban the breed, as well as Rottweilers, because they are “vicious.”

According to a letter sent to owners of these two breeds, they must re-home their beloved pets by Dec. 1. Otherwise the dogs will be taken away for “further disposition,” meaning they will be killed.

(Appalled? A similar ban in Denver has been in effect since 1989. Thousands of Pit Bulls — many of them family pets — have been killed since then.)

Owens told KALB she has never had trouble with Zeus. “The breed is not vicious. It’s the owner,” she said. “It is the way that you raise them.”

She added that she will fight to keep her beloved dog. “Like I told them, they’re going to have to take him from my cold, dead hands before they get a hold of him.”

Moreauville alderman Penn Lemoine told KALB there have been dog attacks in the town, “but I don’t think they’re documented. We had several residents that were complaining about not being able to walk along the neighborhoods because these dogs were basically running along town.”

Lemoine, who has a German Shepherd, said the ban, as well as Moreauville’s plan to kill Pit Bulls and Rottweilers, are perfectly legal.

Lemoine did say that if the public outcry against the ban is strong enough, it may be reconsidered.

A Moveon.org petition asking Moreauville officials to drop the ban has nearly 50,000 signatures as of late Saturday afternoon — that’s quite a public outcry.

“This is amazing y’all!!!” Owens wrote earlier today on the Saving Zeus community page she created on Facebook (which currently has more than 11,000 “likes”).

“I’m reading comments and yes, I must admit the amazing support and words of encouragement have turned the waterworks on! I’ve now gone from a roll of toilet paper to a towel! Ya’ll rock and as the voice for Zeus we love ya’ll.”

The next Moreauville council meeting is scheduled for Dec. 8. To sign the petition, click here.

Photo via Facebook