The Pros And Cons Of Breed-Specific Legislation

Introduction All around the world, dogs have been living with humans since they became domesticated, and maybe even before then. Canines are now mostly human companions, a few being working dogs, but more likely they are just part of the family. As a result of breeding and selection of desirable qualities, we have created the over 350 canine breeds we see today (Pratt, 2004). In the past 50 years certain dog breeds have come under scrutiny for bad behavior, such as biting, and vicious attacks. Presently, as a result, laws called Breed-Specific Legislation, or BSL, have been passed imposing strict laws on particular canine breeds. BSL is defined, generally, as the banning, or regulation, of a specific breed of dog that is considered dangerous and a threat to human safety (Abordo, 2010; Bandow, 1996; Burstein, 2004; Hussain, 2006; Pratt, 2004).
Intentions of BSL Breed-Specific Legislation is the result of a couple factors that led to the belief that we have a need to enact laws against certain dog breeds. One of the common driving forces for the creation of BSL is …show more content…
Burstein relates BSL to racial human laws, commenting on the fact that citizens would not stand for similar blatant prejudice against another group of human beings, and he reflects on why this shouldn’t be any different for canines (2004). He thinks that the negative attitudes towards the breeds implicated with BSL are a result of the same type of narrow mindedness that lead to racism (Burstein, 2004). BSL can be considered prejudice for several reasons, notably with its subjective assumptions towards the fact that the specified breeds are the only ones to harbor aggression (Abordo, 2010). Bandow asserts that the anatomical characteristics of a canine breed provide no indication of the behavior of an individual dog and he comments that biting is a instinctual behavior for all dogs