Frequently Asked Questions
NOTE: This activist had been working toward a mandatory pit bull sterilization law.
Isn’t this just a law enforcement problem? What if we just aggressively enforced the
existing laws more than we do now?
Our current ordinance is reactive and does nothing towards prevention of serious dog bites.
This provides no safety to our citizens or sense of well being in our neighborhoods.
Additionally, after a serious mauling has taken place, most victims are left with no compensation
for their injuries.
Why does the problem of the pit bull need to be addressed with this ordinance?
[ Your city name ] has decades of history with violent attacks with this type dog. The pit
bull problem in [ Your city name ] has increasingly become more serious. Entire neighborhoods
have been victimized by fear of this dog. The issue is the grave damage a pit bull inflicts when it
does bite. Pit bulls inflict more serious wounds than other breeds. They tend to attack the deep
muscles, to hold on, to shake, and to cause ripping of tissue. Pit bull attacks have been compared
to shark attacks and war wounds. Most recently, [ Name of recent attack victim ] endured life
threatening injuries after a pit bull attacked her and did not release.
Shouldn’t we just focus our attention on the prosecution of irresponsible owners of pit bulls
and not punish responsible pit bull owners?
To require a dog to be spayed or neutered is not a punishment. Nor is the requirement to
have liability insurance covering your dog. This is what responsible owners do already. The goal
for [ Your city name ] should be to increase public safety for people, and to better our
neighborhoods by lowering the numbers of pit bulls. They lead all other breeds in bites, glut our
animal control with numbers, and are the most common inflictors of serious injuries. Spaying
and neutering will also make it easier to find the dog fighters.
Isn’t the pit bull just the most recent dog in trouble and the current situation similar to
times past involving the German Shepherd, Doberman Pinscher, and Rottweiler.
How to Pass a Local Pit Bull Ordinance: Frequently Asked Questions
No, the pit bull far out-distances these other breeds in bite and fatality statistics in every
research study which, among many, includes the U.S. Center for Disease Control Study 19781998. There are no bite statistics from any time that show the other dogs even coming remotely
close to the pit bull in fatalities. All domesticated dogs were created for a job. The pit bull was
created to fight and kill other dogs. This job is now a felony in all fifty states. Many pit bull
breeders are criminals. There is no evidence the situation with the dog is improving. The traits of
the other dogs differ greatly from a fighting dog. The other dogs do not have criminal breeders.
Due to the pit bulls trait of unpredictability, Germany, the home of the other bully breeds,
banned the American Pit Bull Terrier. The dog proved more dangerous.
I understand that [ Your city name ] Animal Care and Control issued a press release saying
they are opposed to breed specific legislation. Why should we support this proposal?
The primary reason is that pit bulls are responsible for a number of serious maulings in our
city spanning decades. There is no indication these maulings will cease. Pit bulls are the breed
with the highest bite statistics in our city. They are the dog most connected with criminal
activity; the dog that most often requires police officers on the scene; the dog most feared for its
bite in our neighborhoods; the breed that overwhelmingly fills the shelter. The pit bull is the
most abused dog in our city. It is inhumane to allow the dog to continue unchecked in
population. This is why focus on the pit bull is obvious and to deny the problem is irresponsible.
What proof is there that breed specific spay and neutering regulation works.
Statistics prove that when the numbers of the dog come down so do the numbers of bites -including serious maulings. The City of San Francisco began mandatory spay and neuter in 2005
and eighteen months later pit bull bites declined by 21 percent, shelter occupancy rates fell from
three quarters to one quarter. Pit bull euthanizations dropped 24 per cent. Other cities in
California have also initiated mandatory spay and neuter of the pit bull. Little Rock, Arkansas
initiated mandatory spay and neuter last spring and are seeing their bite and occupancy rate in
their shelter come down. Wichita, Kansas recently began the same program.
Isn’t this just media hype concerning the pit bull?
The media reports serious maulings and fatalities with all breeds. Because of the way pit
bulls bite, they have the highest propensity of any breed to be involved in catastrophic maulings
How to Pass a Local Pit Bull Ordinance: Frequently Asked Questions
– the ones that receive the most coverage. Media and law enforcement treat each attack as a
serious public safety threat. About half of all pit bull reported news regards police officers
shooting pit bulls. The majority of fatalities by dogs over the last thirty-year period have
involved pit bulls.
Isn’t it racist or like profiling to single out the pit bull?
Racism is a term that applies to human beings who have suffered discrimination. This
problem is about public safety concerning a dog. The most profiled people in history are the
Jewish people. The country of Israel has banned the American Pit Bull Terrier to safeguard its
citizens. Israel’s leaders did not equate pit bulls with human Jewish suffering.
I once owned a pit bull and really isn’t it all about how you treat the dog?
It’s always important how you treat a dog. However, there is a combination of genetics and
treatment in the behavior of any dog. Some pit bulls live their lives out and never act upon their
fighting traits. But the chances of owning such a pit bull became less likely around twenty-five
years ago when the dog fighters began giving away their human aggressive and second-rate
dogs. Before this time the dog fighters in the United States had destroyed these dogs. These new
dogs introduced into the public were bred with dogs of unstable temperament. The Humane
Society of the U.S. noticed almost immediately an upswing of human maulings. Prior to this time
many pit bulls living in families were generations away from the fighter making the
predisposition to act on their fighting traits less likely. There are experts who monitor the pit bull
who now believe this breed will never recover.
Isn’t it true pit bulls test higher than Golden Retrievers on the American Temperament
Test?
Only a little over 900 dogs are tested annually for this test. There are over seventy million
dogs in the U.S. The pit bulls score in the middle of all breeds tested at 85.3%, not at the top as
breed fanciers frequently claim. Breeds of dogs as diverse as the English Cocker Spaniel at
92.6%, Irish Setters at 90.9% and Labrador Retrievers at 92% outscore pit bulls. The ATTS Test
simply simulates a walk in the park and was not designed to be a predictor of lifelong good
behavior. The pit bull has great prey drive but the ATTS Test does not cover prey drive, it would
be far too dangerous to have a three year old child running in front of the dog waving their
How to Pass a Local Pit Bull Ordinance: Frequently Asked Questions
hands, for example. The pit bulls score just slightly higher than the Goldens on the test. The
point is we’re not having mauling problems with Golden Retrievers.
Why do not Veterinarians or Humane organizations speak out against the pit bull?
Veterinarians see dogs for short periods of time in a small room with the owner present.
They cannot evaluate a dog in this period of time. An animal behaviorist will spend days
evaluating a dog without the owner present in a large area. Pit bulls are an important part of a
veterinarian’s clientele. Although some veterinarians take care of fighting dogs, most see only
responsible owners. The AVMA will not speak out against a dog. However, the AVMA has
privately warned veterinarians through their professional liability trust in a thirty-four page
booklet about dangers in dealing with pit bulls in their kennels and protecting employees.
Humane organizations are dedicated to advocating for animals. Their mission statements
do not contain human safety issues. These organizations are dependent on donors and so have a
greater unwillingness to speak out against a dog. Some have ideological beliefs that to speak out
against a dog is profiling. Some individuals working for humane groups equate dogs on the same
level as human beings.
Won’t this new program be costly to [ Your city name ] requiring more animal control
officers?
Other communities have not had budget or manpower increases. Requiring registration
ensures that responsible owners spay and neuter their dogs. Once in place, the program would
reduce the numbers of dogs and allow existing officers to more aggressively answer complaints.
Citizens quickly understand they will lose their dog if they have not followed the law. Little
Rock, Arkansas did not need to increase its budget or manpower as a result of its program on
which this proposal is based.
Is the pit bull a threat to the lives of law enforcement officers?
Evaluating the dogs destroyed statistics collected by the [ Your city name ] Police
Department over the last three years, overwhelmingly the dogs police officers shoot are pit bulls.
These incidents often occur when the officer is investigating another crime. One example
occurred in January of 08 when a police officer was called to aid another officer after a pit bull
had attacked a citizen. [ Insert example from city or county police report ] Pit bulls have a very
How to Pass a Local Pit Bull Ordinance: Frequently Asked Questions
high pain tolerance making them difficult to stop even with bullets. Often these reports have
officers firing twice, three times to stop a pit bull. This high pain tolerance is part of the genetics
of a fighting dog breed. Yes, officers place their lives in danger shooting pit bulls.
Why is it humane to want to spay and neuter the pit bull?
It has been said that the pit bulls are the most abused dog on the planet. Many times pit
bulls are found discarded dead, dying, literally thrown away. This is a dog that has been used for
a cruel, violent sport, discarded, and poorly treated by many people. However, this breed can
also be highly intelligent, loyal, athletic, and willing to please. These are the lucky pit bulls
whose genetics happen to be less aggressive and are less prey driven. They may have also found
a good human family. Many animal control officers believe these fortunate dogs are the
minority. How do we save this dog so that the best of the breed can survive? We spay and neuter
the dog so the population is lower. We work to breed a less prey driven dog. We promote human
breed ambassadors who are willing to commit time and energy to this dog. People who love this
breed should embrace this cause for our city.
How to Pass a Local Pit Bull Ordinance: Frequently Asked Questions