So overnight a little 4 year old girl in Melbourne was mauled to death by a pitbull terrier.
I have had a couple of close encounters with this breed of dog in Canberra – once by one that yanked its leash out of its owner’s hand and came at my black ball of fluff and the second time by one that was roaming free as I was relaxing in a park with my kids. Again it came barrelling at us very aggressively. (On a side note, what’s with the huge numbers of dogs that roam our suburbs during the day time… are there people out there who let their dog out for the day while they go to work?)
I’m fairly certain the both times things could have turned out quite badly if I didn’t know how to react in that type of situation.
So, my question is: is it time for the ACT government to reassess its policy to not restrict the ownership of pitbulls in the territory? They have been selectively bred for aggressiveness and I can see no reason why anyone would need to own one.
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What’s Your opinion?
Pitbulls in Canberra. Time to ban? [With poll]
Jethro said :
Maybe they may also not have the resources to properly contain and control their dogs. Keeping certain breeds of dog contained can defeat even the most dedicated fencer. Banning breeds of dog wont stop mans best friend from getting into trouble. An 8ft, wire topped, trenched and buried wire mesh fence wont stop a Husky escaping to kill other dogs. Individually putting down problem dogs is the way to go.
pinklink said :
I agree for the most part, however one should realise that all dogs can be dangerous and it is generally the owner who is at fault for not properley training the dog. I dont know the whole melbourne story but i could easily say that the family involved did not care for the dog properly or they abused it.
When I was 10 I was mauled (fortunately only on the back of the head, so no visible scars) by a Dalmatian. I don’t see calls to ban them. Any dog can be vicious if untrained (or, of course, trained to be vicious, which is too often done with pitbulls). Watch Cesar Milan’s pitbulls and see what great dogs they can be in the right hands.
What happened to this little girl is of course a tragedy.
Tooks said :
I would suggest that people who own these type of dogs tend to be on the less responsible side of the spectrum.
I will note that the ‘time to ban’ and poll options were added by the ed. I’m not calling for a ban, just tighter controls on their breeding and ownership.
shadow boxer said :
Not really. Is there any real evidence to suggest they are?
And you don’t believe a pitbull, a dog deliberately and systematically bred to be as as agressive and lethal as possible is inherently dangerous ?
I always find it interesting to look at the puzzled looks on peoples faces as they try to comprehend how their dog could do such a thing.
It’s nearly as silly as banning fireworks because people cant follow the law and control their dog for one weekend a year
A mongrel dog kills a kid and it’s labelled a pitbull? When in doubt, call it a pitbull cross. Breeds aren’t the problem, owners are.
– If you don’t socialise your dog regularly (with dogs and people) from a young age, you are an idiot
– If you don’t have an escape-proof yard for your dog, you are an idiot
– If you allow your dog to roam, you are an idiot
– If you walk your badly trained dog off lead, you are an idiot
…leading me to believe many dog owners are idiots. Don’t ban breeds, ban certain people from owning dogs of any kind.
Kill them.
The President of RSPCA in Canberra actually owns a Chihuahua. The CEO, me, has a pit bull and a number of cats – all living happily together.
What happened in Melbourne is an absolute tragedy and no family should ever have to suffer this unthinkable type of trauma.
There is no place in Australian society, any society for that matter, for dangerous dogs.
KB1971 said :
Totally agree – Any other breed of dog can be just as aggressive, however many simply don’t have the physical strength and capability to inflict the level of harm that a pitbull (or similar breed) can.
So me thinks surely there should be some middle ground here. There has to be an acceptance of the fact that this particular breed of dog is not an evil creature bent on killing toddlers – but unfortunately it is more than capable of doing so.
I don’t have a fully formed solution, but I suppose there needs to be some monitoring of this breed of dog. Who owns one, what for, has it been trained, how is it contained, etc. Perhaps it should be a case of – if you want one, you’re entitled, but you need to meet certain criteria to be ‘allowed’ to keep one.
It’s a fuzzy idea. But in any case, I don’t think we should be condeming pitbulls everywhere as evil killing machines.
shadow boxer said :
Aparrently, my wife mentioned to me this morning.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-08-17/dog-kills-melbourne-toddler/2844178
Did you read the article on the ABC website? It wasnt a pit bull per say but a pit bull cross mastiff aparrently (no photo’s to back this up though). Who is to say tha mastiff part of the dog didn’t maul the child? It should be stated that the dog is a cross breed, not a pit bull. I have seen this before by the media. It also could have been bred for the purposes of hunting & escaped my mistake.
We currently have an issue with two dogs from up the street that live in the ferals house. They bail up people at the bus stop on both sides of the street, even kids. Complete PITA they are & if I was allowed to I would have shot them both in the arse with the slug gun to send them home.
Guess what they are? Bloody Shitzu’s!!!!! Small dogs can be just as agressive.
Disclaimer: I voted “Blame the owners” because there was nothing about the media misrepresenting a breed in the poll.
Doesn’t the President of our fireworks banning RSPCA own one ?
There should be a third option in the poll:
Dog and owner should be euthanized as blights on society.