National survey shows majority of Americans polled support freedom to choose dogs, regardless of breed

National survey shows majority of Americans polled support freedom to choose dogs, regardless of breed

A new national survey commissioned by Best Friends Animal Society (http://www.bestfriends.org) reveals that 84 percent of those polled believe that local, state or federal governments should not infringe on a person’s right to own whatever breed of dog they choose.

This survey, conducted by Luntz Global, is consistent with a growing trend by many state and local governments that have repealed Breed Discriminatory Legislation (sometimes known as Breed Specific Legislation or BSL) and enacted behavior-based, breed-neutral dangerous dog laws.

SURELY SOMEONE HAS HAD SUCCESS WITH BSL?
The effects of BSL on public safety are seriously understudied, especially by the scientific community.

The few scientific studies that exist have indicated that BSL has little to no effect on public safety. In some cases, as in the U.K., dog bites appear to be a growing problem in spite of BSL.

To date, there are no scientific studies anywhere that confirm BSL or breed bans have had a significant positive effect on public safety.

The reasons for this lack of data are numerous:

Some cities that pass BSL fail to collect bite data after passage of the legislation. They assume that the problem is solved, and do not look into the issue again. Or, as with Aurora, the city changes its method of bite data collection so that it becomes difficult if not impossible to compare pre- and post-BSL dog bites.

Sometimes the city only tracks bites by “pit bulls” and not other breeds, so it is not possible to discern whether another breed is causing more problems after passage of BSL.

Often, the city does not make its dog bite data freely and easily available upon request. The reasons why are unclear. One could surmise that this may be because of improper or outdated methods of record-keeping, overburdened office workers, or embarrassment over unfavorable statistics.

Breed identification and many other issues raise questions as to the accuracy and validity of many dog bite statistics.
There is no uniform method for collecting dog bite information, nor is there a primary organization to which all dog bites are reported.
In the few cases where sufficient data has been scientifically gathered and analyzed, BSL has not been shown to reduce dog bites or improve public safety