I oppose all breed bans and I can write or talk for hours on why. But even so, there is a "norm" for breed bans, a list of breeds I expect to see even though I disagree with it.
Local blogger Lynn Benoit, however, found a bunch of breeds on a "ban list" that absolutely shocked me, though.
In Saginaw, the council has singled out Great Danes, Huskies and Malamutes, St. Bernard's, German Shepherds and other breeds to join the stereotypical ones, like pit bulls, etc.
See the full list on her post, Picking on the Big Dogs
I think her analysis of this is spot on. It's about the size of these dogs, perhaps how they've been portrayed in a movie here or there, and little else.
This is EXACTLY the type of slippery slope I've been warning about for years. We allow our government to ban one breed and we set the precedent that government knows best what dogs we should be able to own and what dogs we shouldn't. And now, government is telling us that Great Danes, Huskies, Malamutes, St. Bernard's and German Shepherds are right up there with those monster pit bulls in the "not safe for people to own" category.
Soon, we'll be banning Chihuahuas because of the bite statistics. Think breed bans can't happen to little dogs? Well, once we've allowed our government to ban all the big dogs, what do you think they're going to go after next?
This is the slippery slope and we have officially begun sliding down it. Let's give a big thanks to all those people who have been crying wolf about the pit bull down the street and gotten government to jump on board with senseless, discriminatory bans. No breed is safe now, and frankly, I'm not sure our democracy is safe either.
Local blogger Lynn Benoit, however, found a bunch of breeds on a "ban list" that absolutely shocked me, though.
In Saginaw, the council has singled out Great Danes, Huskies and Malamutes, St. Bernard's, German Shepherds and other breeds to join the stereotypical ones, like pit bulls, etc.
See the full list on her post, Picking on the Big Dogs
I think her analysis of this is spot on. It's about the size of these dogs, perhaps how they've been portrayed in a movie here or there, and little else.
This is EXACTLY the type of slippery slope I've been warning about for years. We allow our government to ban one breed and we set the precedent that government knows best what dogs we should be able to own and what dogs we shouldn't. And now, government is telling us that Great Danes, Huskies, Malamutes, St. Bernard's and German Shepherds are right up there with those monster pit bulls in the "not safe for people to own" category.
Soon, we'll be banning Chihuahuas because of the bite statistics. Think breed bans can't happen to little dogs? Well, once we've allowed our government to ban all the big dogs, what do you think they're going to go after next?
This is the slippery slope and we have officially begun sliding down it. Let's give a big thanks to all those people who have been crying wolf about the pit bull down the street and gotten government to jump on board with senseless, discriminatory bans. No breed is safe now, and frankly, I'm not sure our democracy is safe either.
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