Contra Costa County
I have been in favor of denying criminals the right to own big dogs. I proposed this to some pro-dog groups several years ago. Legislators seemed to like the idea... then the ball was dropped, and the idea was never pursued... until now.
Laws like this can be used to go after drug dealers, who use pit bulls and Rottweilers to guard their drug operations. Breed bans have been enacted all over the world to address the drug dealer/ dog problem. In addition, I believe thsi kind of legislation will also prevent a wide variety of animal abuse cases, unrelated to drug dealing. Criminals of all kinds oftentimes abuse dogs, too. Dog activists, like myself, have opposed breed bans because they don'treally address the root of the problem: criminal behavior.
Breed bans target lots of innocent dogs just to go after a few criminal dog owners. "Denver gained national attention this year when it reinstated a ban and started euthanizing pit bulls." Such actions are outrageous. Denver sent police officers to people's houses to seize innocent dogs, then put those dogs to death. That is why some folks call this kind of thing a Dog Holocaust.
I'm not sure I support the remainder of the law being proposed, but these folks are on the right track. Sometimes, in order to get the main goals you want passed in a legislature, you have to compromise and accept that the lawmakers will add some other provisions that you wouldn't want in an ideal world. That's life.
I have been in favor of denying criminals the right to own big dogs. I proposed this to some pro-dog groups several years ago. Legislators seemed to like the idea... then the ball was dropped, and the idea was never pursued... until now.
Laws like this can be used to go after drug dealers, who use pit bulls and Rottweilers to guard their drug operations. Breed bans have been enacted all over the world to address the drug dealer/ dog problem. In addition, I believe thsi kind of legislation will also prevent a wide variety of animal abuse cases, unrelated to drug dealing. Criminals of all kinds oftentimes abuse dogs, too. Dog activists, like myself, have opposed breed bans because they don'treally address the root of the problem: criminal behavior.
Breed bans target lots of innocent dogs just to go after a few criminal dog owners. "Denver gained national attention this year when it reinstated a ban and started euthanizing pit bulls." Such actions are outrageous. Denver sent police officers to people's houses to seize innocent dogs, then put those dogs to death. That is why some folks call this kind of thing a Dog Holocaust.
I'm not sure I support the remainder of the law being proposed, but these folks are on the right track. Sometimes, in order to get the main goals you want passed in a legislature, you have to compromise and accept that the lawmakers will add some other provisions that you wouldn't want in an ideal world. That's life.
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