Story

1. Who will they come for next?

Title:  Thousands of banned dogs live at home with owners

Source: BBC https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-67217993 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-66775985

Date: 10/27/2023

Summary: 3,500 banned dogs live legally with their owner in the UK, and the government intends to ban more dogs based on their breed. 

Situation:

1.  The UK government recently banned Electronic training collars and is planning on banning pronged training collars.
2. The UK also banned “Pitbull terriers, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, and the Fila Brasileiro under the “Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.”
3. Later this year, The UK plans to ban the  American Bully XL
4. The American Bully was first bred in the 80’s and is a cross between American Pitbull Terriers and American Staffordshire Terriers.
5. There are four variations: Standard, pocket, classic, and XL 

Problem

1. Even though these dogs are banned, people still get them and have them. 
   1. Anita Mehdi owns a 7-year-old Pitbull terrier. 
   2. Four years ago, the police seized her dog, Lola, because someone reported her to the police.
   3. Lola was measured and assessed. She was classified as a “pit-bull-type” because she is an English Staffordshire Bull terrier, American bulldog cross.
   4. Lola also underwent a “behavioral Assessment.” for the local government official tasked with this job. 
   5. Anita says she did not know she was unaware that Lola was a “pit bull” when she got her. 
   6. Anita had to go to court to find out if she could get an exemption. 
2. The law says no pit bulls, but if you are rich enough to go to court and do the other things the government requires, you might be able to get one. 
   1. Exemption schemes allow banned dogs to stay with their owners if a court is satisfied that they do not pose a danger to the public and that strict restrictions will be followed. Lola was returned to Anita with a list of restrictions.
   2. To own one of these dogs, you must own a house, get a 6-foot fence, Spay or neuter, and microchip the dog. 
   3. Anita must prove to the government she has third-party insurance and must show a certificate of exemption to a police station within five days if she is asked to do so by police or dog warden. 
   4. If Anita fails to comply with these rules could cause the police to seize  Lola again. 
3. BBC News submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the government department that monitors the active list of exempted dogs.
4. Of the data, which showed that 3,499 banned dogs are registered in England, Scotland, and Wales, almost all are pit bull terriers, with 3,316 in England and 149 in Wales. Ten years ago, the BBC reported that there were 2,323 in England and Wales.
5. a dog that may have characteristics of another breed but still has enough pit bull characteristics to be considered a banned dog.
6. Dog Legislation Officer PC Paul Jameson said the assessment was based on physical composition and observation.
7. "We measure around 70 things altogether, looking at every aspect of the dog," he explains.
8. "We're looking for a triangular head when viewed from the front. The eyes are almond-shaped, not quite deep-set compared to other breeds. We're looking for a long, heavily muscled neck… If it has a significant number of characteristics, it will be classified as a pit bull type."
9. The government says it will ban another type of dog, the American bully XL, before the end of the year. However, it has not yet defined the breed characteristics for this animal.
10. PC Jameson says that assessing XL bullies will pose a challenge.
11. "We don't have accurate numbers of how many of these dogs are really out there. I would say there's thousands."
12. He says kennels used by police for seized dogs are already "extremely busy," and if XL bullies are to be seized in the future, this will add to the strain.
13. "But I'm sure we'll rise to the challenge when it comes in,"

Action: This is what happening

1. Tom Pattison and Casey Norster own an 11-month-old XL bully called Zuma, a family pet they have had since he was a puppy. Despite his fearsome appearance, their two young children, aged four and two, adore him
2. In preparation for Zuma becoming a banned dog breed, Tom and Casey have started to train him to use a lead and a muzzle. They are taking him to professional dog behavior training classes in the hope he will be assessed as safe to stay with them.
3. Since the announcement of a future ban on XL bullies, the family has noticed that people react differently to Zuma.
4. "People are a bit more wary about him now. They don't want their dogs to come close to him. They don't want their children close to him.
5. "If he's ever off the lead, they'll start walking in the opposite direction."
6. So, Tom and Casey are opposed to breed-specific legislation, and Anita has been campaigning to change it since Lola was seized. She says the emphasis should be placed on "responsible ownership and accountability."
7. PC Jameson says the laws are not designed to punish responsible owners. He says it would be "foolish" to return a dog to an owner who does not understand or acknowledge that their pet could be dangerous to themselves and others.

Result: Takeaway

1. The UK likes to make laws that protect idiots from themselves. They value those laws more than they value their responsible citizens. 
2. Breed bans are stupid
3. Some good things come from it
   1. People are muzzle-conditioning their dogs.
   2. People are getting training with their dogs.
   3. People are getting smarter about strange dogs
      1. People are a bit more wary about him now.
      2. They don't want their dogs to come close to him. 
      3. They don't want their children close to him.
      4. "If he's ever off the lead, they'll start walking in the opposite direction."

Closing 

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