To: City of St.John's NL ,Canada
Ban the DEED not the Breed!
To Mayor Andy Wells,
We the undersigned believe that Breed Bans and or Breed Specific
Legislation
are a short term, short-sighted attempt to deal with the issues
surrounding
canine related injuries.
Statistics on dog bites and dog related injuries simply do not support
the
assertion that one breed has a predisposition to be more aggressive
versus
another. In Canada there are no laws making it mandatory to report dog
bites. The Canadian Safety Council acknowledges that breed bans and or
breed
specific legislation do not address the real problem which is
irresponsible
dog owners. NO form of legislation will not stop dogs from biting ,but
enforcing responsible dog ownership will dramatically lower bite
incidences.
ALL dogs can and will bite under given circumstances.
If any community wishes to seriously discuss this issue,let us look at
the
facts gathered from the following organizations:
Center for Disease Control,
Canadian Federation of Humane Societies
The Federation for Animal Welfare
Humane Society of the United States.
The Canadian Safety Council,
The Canadian Veterinarian Medical Association,
American Veterinarian Association,
National Companion Animal Coalition
All of these organizations reviewed available data on dog bites and dog
related fatalities.The conclusions reached were that the statistics did
not
support the assertion that any one breed is more dangerous than
another.
When legislation was introduced, the number of fatalities did not
decrease.
Measures were costly to municipalities,unenforceable,unconstitutional
and
simply did nothing to address the real problem which is irresponsible
dog
ownership.
According to statistics gathered by the above mentioned
organizations,12
deaths per year can be attributed to dog bites,that is about 0.000001\%
chance of dying from a dog bite regardless of the breed.In the USA
there are
over 40,000 American Kennel Club registered rottweilers,5th most
popular
breed>,in Canada there are approximately 20,000 registered with the
Canadian
Kennel Club.
Statistics do however prove that responsible canine ownership is the
key to
ensuring the publics (should have an apostrophe) safety. Controlling
the
people who will abuse the owner-dog relationship is a far better and
wiser
solution to the problem these owners present to the neighbours (no)
matter
what breed of dog they own.
Do not punish those of us who are responsible owners. Our dogs are
companions and members of our families. We can and do maintain our dogs
so
they do not pose a threat to anyone, so why should we be denied our
companions simply because irresponsible owners of the same breed of
dog,
have not ethically and legally protected others from injury?
Please retract your proposal for a breed ban/breed specific
legislation. We
the undersigned will never vote for any politician advocating the use
of
breed bans and or breed specific legislation. And for those undersigned
that
do not reside within your city limits, we will show our support against
this
proposal by not visiting your city now or in the future. This is not
simply
an issue in St John's, or New Brunswick Canada, your proposal has
reached
the ears of EVERY responsible dog owner, in North America, as well as
other
countries around the world
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Please sign petition against breed ban
In support of fightingagainst breed specific legislation!
http://www.petitiononline.com/dakota/petition.html
By The Bay Rescue
LeeAnn O'Reilly
Forever by my Side,
The salt in my tears,
my Max and Koda,
til we meet again,
By The Bay
Sincerely,
The Undersigned
