Banning a Chance
The debate on banning pit bulls has become of growing concern in recent years. Some believe that they shouldn’t be allowed as pets, while others are fighting in favor of allowing the dogs to be pets. Pit bulls, in recent years, have been widely known as dogs with violent tendencies. The reasoning for this is the widespread use of these dogs in fights to the death in which the owners place bets that their dog will kill the other. This practice, while being horribly immoral, has caused people to stereotype these dogs as naturally violent, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Pit bulls used to be considered a great pet for the majority of the 20th century. They used to be one of the most common domestic dog breeds. Unfortunately with all the recent reports of pit bulls being used in dog fighting people have been scared into voting on banning the breed in certain areas of the United States. Pit bulls do not deserve to be banned like this. If these animals have been proven to be loving, loyal and protective why would we say that it is nature that makes them violent instead of nurture?
Pit bulls were not considered to be violent animals in the first half of the 20th century. Instead, they were liked enough to be used on propaganda posters for World War 1, advertisements and numerous television shows such as The Little Rascals. From the time of 1900 until 1980 there was only one report of a dog attack that involved a pit bull in which a man told the dog to attack an innocent woman in Florida. During the trial the man was considered completely responsible for the attacks and was charged instead of the dogs. Ironically, the state of Florida was the first state to enact a ban on a specific breed of dog. This shows that they believe the dog to be the source of the violence instead of the environment the owner gives the dog. About a decade later over 30 communities were considering enacting a ban on the pit bull breed. The reason for this was that dog fighting began to be popular in the 1980s. Pit bulls are also the preferred guard dog for drug dealers due to their loyal and protective nature. There was a widely publicized attack in which a pit bull that was guarding marijuana plants in California killed a 2 and a half-year-old boy. This caused all who had proposed the ban to make it a law. These bans went as far as allowing animal control officers to kill pit bulls on sight in Tijeras, New Mexico.
This extreme prejudice towards the breed seems unjustified. Experts on animal behavior believe that the pit bull attacks are all due to the fact that owners train these dogs to attack on command. The training of these dogs to be violent on command is very similar to what the police do with German shepherds. This is contradicting because the law enforcement dogs have the capability to be extremely violent towards human beings on command, yet German shepherds are still a common household pet. These facts show an obvious prejudice towards the pit bull breed. This unfair treatment towards these dogs shouldn’t happen. There should be more of an effort to go after those who fight these dogs than the dogs themselves.
It’s an unfortunate occurrence when we pick on a specific group to be a problem. Understanding how wrong it is to do such a thing is the first step of many in treating these dogs in a fair and just way. The main issue is the owners taking advantage of the loyalty and strength of pit bulls. Banning pit bulls is allowing bad owners to get away with their indirect acts of violence. It is time that we started going after the owners instead of the dogs. Pit bulls deserve the chance to prove that they are just as loving and loyal as other dogs.
Pit bulls were not considered to be violent animals in the first half of the 20th century. Instead, they were liked enough to be used on propaganda posters for World War 1, advertisements and numerous television shows such as The Little Rascals. From the time of 1900 until 1980 there was only one report of a dog attack that involved a pit bull in which a man told the dog to attack an innocent woman in Florida. During the trial the man was considered completely responsible for the attacks and was charged instead of the dogs. Ironically, the state of Florida was the first state to enact a ban on a specific breed of dog. This shows that they believe the dog to be the source of the violence instead of the environment the owner gives the dog. About a decade later over 30 communities were considering enacting a ban on the pit bull breed. The reason for this was that dog fighting began to be popular in the 1980s. Pit bulls are also the preferred guard dog for drug dealers due to their loyal and protective nature. There was a widely publicized attack in which a pit bull that was guarding marijuana plants in California killed a 2 and a half-year-old boy. This caused all who had proposed the ban to make it a law. These bans went as far as allowing animal control officers to kill pit bulls on sight in Tijeras, New Mexico.
This extreme prejudice towards the breed seems unjustified. Experts on animal behavior believe that the pit bull attacks are all due to the fact that owners train these dogs to attack on command. The training of these dogs to be violent on command is very similar to what the police do with German shepherds. This is contradicting because the law enforcement dogs have the capability to be extremely violent towards human beings on command, yet German shepherds are still a common household pet. These facts show an obvious prejudice towards the pit bull breed. This unfair treatment towards these dogs shouldn’t happen. There should be more of an effort to go after those who fight these dogs than the dogs themselves.
It’s an unfortunate occurrence when we pick on a specific group to be a problem. Understanding how wrong it is to do such a thing is the first step of many in treating these dogs in a fair and just way. The main issue is the owners taking advantage of the loyalty and strength of pit bulls. Banning pit bulls is allowing bad owners to get away with their indirect acts of violence. It is time that we started going after the owners instead of the dogs. Pit bulls deserve the chance to prove that they are just as loving and loyal as other dogs.