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By
Karen Peak
West Wind Dog Training
Somewhere along the line, and I
am still trying to figure out
how this happened, I fell into
becoming active in trying to
halt Breed Specific Legislations
(BSL). Since traveling is tough
for me now, I do letter writing
and contacting as many
legislators as I can when I
learn of a proposed BSL in a
region. Between talking with
others who are also involved
with fighting BSL as well as my
own experiences, I have
developed a list of steps to
help fight BSL (this is more for
US folk but can be adapted
anywhere):
1) Notify the big all breed
registries - at least both the
AKC and the UKC have departments
to tackle BSL.
I am not sure
if the ARBA has a specific BSL
department at this time, but
contact them anyway. American
Rare Breed Association,
www.arba.org
2) Contact the
national breed clubs for each
breed listed.
3) Contact
local all breed clubs.
Infodog.com has a great list of
upcoming shows (all AKC but some
clubs members also do UKC, ARBA,
etc) by state and through it you
can get lists and addresses for
hosting clubs. This is easier
than a general search of the
Internet for lists of clubs.
Also go to various registries
and look for local kennel clubs.
4) Organize a letter writing
campaign and get information out
to local newspapers, animal
control, legislators, etc.
5) Do not use abusive language
or call names. It undermines
your credibility and gives
ammunition to those who insist
only thugs own these breeds. Be
professional.
6) If possible, go and testify.
Remember #5 and when you go,
dress professionally as if you
were going to give a lecture or
presentation. Do nothing
to fuel the fire of those who
insist only tough guys own these
breeds.
7) Get involved with the
community and try to keep
abreast of happenings. Sadly,
many of us find out about breed
legislation after it is too late
to effectively get involved. It
is amazing how quietly people
will try and enact laws and the
public may not know about it
until too late.
8) Encourage broad based dog
bite laws that cover all breeds
or crosses and take in to
consideration:
-
Who owned the dog and under
what conditions was it kept?
-
Was the dog being used
potentially as a weapon?
-
Was the dog properly under
control?
-
Was the dog "justified" in
the bite? (Like was the dog
being teased or protecting
property from intruders, was
the dog injured - and note
under protecting property,
know your local laws.)
-
Stiffer penalties for animal
cruelty - most now are a
slap on the wrist.
-
If a dog is suspected of
being used as a weapon or is
being used to guard illegal
trade, the owner will be
charged as though he had a
loaded gun.
-
Mandatory leash laws with
stiff fines for breaking
them - many communities -
even suburbs - do not have
them. (There will be
exceptions for working farm
dogs and livestock
protectors, etc.).
-
Public education of breeds,
safety around ALL dogs and
what signs to look for if
you suspect someone is using
a dog for illegal things.
And of course, be the most
responsible dog owner you can!
Teach by example! |
