The "dangerous dog" bills are on the Minnesota House and Senate
floors and need your action right away. Please
contact your State Representative AND your State Senator and ask them to vote YES on the dangerous dog bill, and remember to say that you do not support any amendments that would allow breed discrimination. Be sure to thank your representative for considering your views.

HF 2906/SF 2876 is a comprehensive, generic dangerous dog bill that would require individual dogs that have been designated “dangerous” to be sterilized. The bill also would provide necessary appeal procedures to contest the designation of “dangerous” and would prevent reckless owners convicted of violating the dangerous dog provisions from owning dogs again.This bill is the smart alternative to breed-discriminatory laws, which ban certain breeds of dog in the hope of reducing dog attacks. There is no evidence that breed bans are effective, while there is significant evidence that well-enforced, breed-neutral laws such as HF 2906/SF 2876 are.

The following article by Stephanie Fox includes futher information about breed bans in general and outlines the stance of local groups about HF2906/SF 2876.

Ban The Deed, Not The Breed

by Stephanie Fox

When the Minnesota State Legislature reconvened in February, Rep. John Lesch, (DFL-St. Paul) attempted to introduce a bill to make ownership of any pit bull, Rottweiler, chow-chow or wolf hybrid a misdemeanor anywhere in the state, punishable by up to 90 days in jail and fines of up to $1,000. These dog breeds, Lesch insisted, are dangerous. Supporters of the bill claimed there is a dog bite epidemic and that a breed ban would save countless lives.

Fatal dog attacks not an epidemic

According to the Humane Society of the United States, there is no such dog bite outbreak. As tragic as they are, dog attacks in the entire U.S. average only about 10 to 30 deaths per year and have stayed at that level for more than a decade. Not all of these attacks are by the breeds Lesch wants to ban. In 2000, a 6-week old baby in California was killed by her family's 4-pound Pomeranian.

HF 2906: An alternative to banning breeds

Lesch’s bill never made it past committee. Another bill, HF 2906, proposed by Rep. Michael Paymar (DFL-St. Paul), hopes to address the problem by setting the criteria to define a dangerous dog and by establishing restrictions and penalties for these dogs and their owners.

Paymar’s bill includes provisions for registering dangerous dogs with local animal control, requiring some owners to purchase liability insurance policies, the neutering of dangerous dogs or in rare cases of unprovoked attacks, euthanizing dogs. Most importantly, there are limitations on who may own a dog deemed dangerous, with special restrictions or bans on people with criminal histories. There are no breed bans mentioned in the bill.

Paymar’s bill is expected to go to the House floor for a vote the week of April 14. Paymar said there may be attempts by Lesch or other legislators to attach amendments that could lead to a breed ban. The issue, he said, is emotionally charged.

Problem is with owners, not dogs

According to experts at both the Center for Disease Control and the Humane Society of the United States, the problem lies not with a dog’s breed but with uneducated and irresponsible owners, or owners who believe that a dangerous dog makes them dangerous as well. “I don’t think that the breed bans are very well thought out. We need to focus on seeing that the owners of these dogs are held accountable,” Paymar said.

In Minnesota, The Animal Humane Society, Pet Haven and other animal advocacy organizations are asking for public support in opposing all breed ban legislation. They are actively supporting Paymar’s bill, and S.F 2876, its companion bill in the Minnesota Senate.

Breed ban a growing trend

Minnesota is not the only location that has considered a breed ban, or with such a ban in place. The practice of outlawing certain breeds, or even dogs that look like certain breeds, has become an international trend. More than 200 municipalities in the United States ban or restrict
certain breeds including Dalmatians, German shepherds, Great Danes, rottweilers and pit bulls.

Studies have shown that breed bans do not work. A research paper published in the Australian Social Monitor showed that after Britain banned pit bulls in the 1990s, the number of dog bites remained the same although the number of pit bulls were down significantly. Nationwide, breed bans are opposed by the Humane Society of the United States, the Center for Disease Control and the American Veterinarian Association.

“We oppose anything breed-specific,” said Michael San Flippo, a spokesman for the veterinarians. “It’s not the breeds, it’s the owners who should be held responsible.”

From Spuds McKenzie to vicious icon

Public perceptions about the personalities of certain dog breeds change over time. During the first half of the twentieth century, pit-bull types were considered good family dogs. The dog Petey of the "Our Gang" comedies was a pit bull. Advertising icons like Bull’s-eye, the Target Corporation dog, and Spuds McKenzie are both bull terriers.

San Filippo believes that part of the reason pit bulls and other large breeds are being targeted is that these breeds became fashionable among certain lifestyle subcultures. "Pit bull" is the new buzz word, he said. “You hear about pit bulls biting, but a bite from a golden or a small breed doesn’t get media coverage,” he insisted. “It gets into the collective imagination and these dogs get viewed as super-predators. We don’t hear about the factors or about the owners. People are judging these breeds on what they look like,” said San Filippo, “not on their individual character.”

Even abused pit bulls can be rehabilitated. Almost all of Michael Vick’s fighting dogs were found to be people-friendly and tolerant of other dogs, according to ASPCA evaluators. Many have been, or soon will be, put up for adoption with families. One of Vick’s dogs, Hector, a 52-pound former fighter with the scars to prove it, is in training to become a certified therapy dog.

Shannon McKenzie, the executive director of UnderDog Rescue, a Minnesota pit bull rescue organization, is helping organize opposition to any breed ban. She supports Paymer’s proposed law. “I’ve been bitten by cockers, Pomeranians and Great Danes,” she said, “but in 10 years and 1,500 dogs, I’ve never had a pit bull that even considered biting me.” The real problem, she said, is always the person on the other end of the leash.

Stephanie Fox is a Minneapolis freelance dog writer. She does not own a banned breed.