Should Pit Bulls Be Banned in Crofton? Readers Respond

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CROFTON, MD–A recent attack by a pit bull of its owner in Anne Arundel County has again ignited a debate in Maryland about whether the breed is inherently dangerous.

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On April 4, a dog was euthanized by police after it attacked a Churchton woman and would not let go. The incident prompted comment from Tony Solesky, a Towson man whose son was mauled by a pit bull in 2007.

After Solesky’s child was attacked, a Maryland court ruled pit bulls are “inherently dangerous.” The ruling held dog owners and landlords liable for any attacks by pit bulls, prompting landlords statewide to ban the dogs from rental housing.

A 2014 Maryland law supported by the Humane Society overturned the breed-specific ruling, reports The Huffington Post.

We asked Patch Readers in Crofton if pit bulls deserved the title of “Most Dangerous Dog in America” and the ban that sometimes comes along with it. Here’s what they had to say:

• "No but there needs to be strict discipline for irresponsible dog owners."
• "It is not the dogs!"
• "Doggie Racism isn't cool."
• "No. It's how they are raised, not the breed."
• "No! But I know plenty of dog owners who should be banned."
• "Absolutely not. BSL costs towns, cities, and counties hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of tax payer's money annually and is completley ineffectual. It does nothing more than perpetuate stereotypes, feed into media sensationalism, and breaks up loving families from their beloved companion animals. Why would this even be considered Crofton Patch?"
• "There should be stricter consequences for convicted animal abusers, stricter enforcement of leash laws, more community emphasis on spaying and neutering and low cost vaccinations but there is never ever an acceptable time or place for BSL "breed specific legislation" as it is archaic and proven ineffective at preventing incidences of animal violence or aggression."
• "NOOOO! Every time I have been bitten by a dog it was a cute fluffy cocker spaniel. So are they going to be banned???? RIDICULOUS!"
  
• "Uh....NO!"
• "Absolutely not. There is no empirical evidence anywhere that BSL works."

The ASPCA released a statement stating that they “oppose any state or local law to regulate or ban dogs based on breed.”

They explain that the data collection methods that go into forming these statistics are often unreliable. Specifically, breed-identification can be difficult, especially with mixed-breed dogs, which can lead to an inaccurate calculation of a breed’s bite rate.

The National Canine Research Council says that responsible pet ownership is the key to aggression prevention, and that it’s the duty of the owner to not allow “a pet to become a threat or a nuisance.”

While the question of “bad breeds” is still up in the air, for every bad pit bull story, there’s a good one to match.

Do you have an opinion on pitties? Share it with us in the comments below or on our Crofton Patch Facebook page.

Make sure to check out our national Patch Pets Facebook page for the latest news from the animal kingdom.

>>Photo by Getty Images via Flickr