Muzzles, insurance proposed for pit bulls

[size=-1]Wilmington,DE -- [/size]
New Castle County Councilman Jea P. Street wants to tighten the leash on pit bulls with legislation that would place the dogs under the same restrictions as a vicious animal, even if they have never attacked.

The tougher measures are expected to be introduced during tonight's council meeting. They would require specific breeds of bull terriers or pit bull mixes to be muzzled while off the owner's property. Owners also would need at least $100,000 in liability insurance in case the dog causes property damage or injury to a person or animal.

But opposition is mounting from critics who say such breed-specific legislation is unfair and doesn't address the real problem of owner accountability. Street said he feels compelled to protect residents, especially after a pit bull mix severely injured a 3-year-old girl last month in an unprovoked attack in the Oakmont development in New Castle County.

"They can duck that and they can vote it down," he said. "But at least I will have stood on my principles and done what I can do as one council person with limited capability to make a change."

Street said he was working on changes to the county's animal control laws before the Jan. 30 attack, citing continual problems with aggressive dogs. In 2002, a pit bull killed a 2-year-old boy in the boy's Edgemoor Gardens yard.

"You've got a specific breed that's terrorizing the community," Street said. "I'm doing it because the dogs are dangerous, people are afraid of them, people have been complaining and nobody wants to step to the plate."

The proposal has drawn the attention of the American Kennel Club, which sent a letter to council last week stating its longtime position against breed-specific legislation.

Lisa Peterson, spokeswoman for the AKC, said communities need to combat dog problems with stronger enforcement of leash laws rather than targeting certain animals. Pit bulls are bred to be aggressive and are stronger than most other dogs, she said, but owners are responsible for socializing them to be gentle or ferocious.

"We would like to see generic dangerous dog legislation that puts responsibility at the other end of the leash with the owner," Peterson said. Mark Riley of New Castle agrees.

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060228/NEWS/602280361

 

Thanx for the article. It sounds to me like everyone is still missing the point though. Even AKC reps dont know what they are saying. At least they made some type of stand against it though. It might not have helped at all saying that APBTs were breed to be aggressive. They should have said they were breed to be DOG Aggressive. We will see how everything turns out.

 

And of course it's the pit bull temperament that caused the dog to do this. Why not target the breed it was mixed with? A little off topic...I've just now noticed that people with pit mixes always claim to have a "pit mix". Like, if it's a pit/lab mix, it's referred to as a pit mix. Why not a lab mix? Or a beagle mix? I think I already may know the answer to this though, and it makes me a little upset.

 

I saw the dog on the news and it was a pit/something and come to find out they can't verify that an adult was in the room with the little girl and the dog, and it was an older dog that had been with the family for a long time. Basically what happened was the dog had her by the hair and they tried to pull her away from the dog and it scalped her.
All this is too much, I don't think it will pass, but I will be writing letters and attending meetings, with what they are proposing, we wouldn't even be able to have our dogs unmulzzed on our own property unless they are in a "well secured confined area" and we weightpull, so how are we supposed to work our dogs? UKC and AKC shows are held regularly in New Castle County, and we hold a weightpull every year to raise money for kids at Christmas. All this will be impossible if this passes. There really is no need for this, Delaware has a very fair dangerous dog law now. No need to add to it.

 

Me and my boyfriend just got a new baby pit. She is only about 12 weeks old right now, and we were just informed that this law might be in place down here. We arent sure how to go about finding out. I came across this web site today at school and joined in hopes of finding out how I can help out and how I can become better informed. If anyone knows weither or not this is yet in affect in Louisiana OR anywhere for that matter can you please let me know?!

 

Louisiana has some BSL. Morgan City has them banned as well as Luling, LA. Let me get you the rest.............

 

That proposal is unfair. Why do people bother so much with pit bulls? How about generic dog laws to cover every dog, regardless of breed? It just makes me sick.

 

Uggh!!! They just had an update on the little girl tonight! The mother was talking, urging people that we need this bill for the $100,000 liability insurance because her medical bills are mounting up. The dog lived with her mother, what does she want to do, sue her mother? And she even said, they came into the room and saw the dog with the girl, 3 yrs old, they left her alone in the room with the dog, you don't even leave a 3 yr old alone in a room without a dog. How about parental responsibility being to blame?
Sorry....just venting

 

oh, did they forget to mention in this article that the girl's mom was in another room doing drugs? Seems she had more important things to do than keep an eye on her child....like get high.