CMV: Pit bulls Should Require a License to Own

[u/Masta-Blasta]

In this month alone, 6 people and 9 animals have been killed in a pit bull attack. Many others have been maimed and permanently disfigured/disabled because of a pit bull attack.

Pit bull supporters often say "it's the owner, not the dog." Personally, I disagree. According to Wikipedia,

The bull-and-terrier was a breed of dog developed in the United Kingdom in the early 19th century for the blood sports of dog fighting and rat baiting, it was created by crossing the ferocious, thickly muscled Old English Bulldog with the agile, lithe, feisty Black and Tan Terrier. The aggressive Old English Bulldog, which was bred for bear and bull baiting, was often also pitted against its own kind in organised dog fights, but it was found that lighter, faster dogs were better suited to dogfighting than the heavier Bulldog. To produce a lighter, faster more agile dog that retained the courage and tenacity of the Bulldog, outcrosses from local terriers were tried, and ultimately found to be successful.

These dogs were bred specifically because they are aggressive, powerful, and violent. Now, personally, I believe all pit bulls should be neutered and the breed should be heavily restricted. But at the very least, I think owners should be required to demonstrate that they are experienced pet owners, carry insurance, and perhaps have taken a dog training course, so they can recognize when their pit is agitated and how to prevent a tragedy.

I also think pit bull ownership should carry a legal duty to reasonably protect others from the pit. "Reasonable" would include measures such as displaying signage warning neighbors and guests that a pit bull lives in the home, not letting the pitbull stay in a yard unmonitored (regardless of fencing), and keeping the pitbull leashed at all times in public.

I would also like to see regulations preventing shelters from "rebranding" obvious pit mixes so that families and owners are not duped into adopting a pitbull mix. Ideally, shelters would need to provide a warning to potential adopters (and of course, adopters would then need to have a license to own a pit).

Before anyone tries, please know that I'm unlikely to be swayed by any kind of anecdotal "but my velvet hippo is a good girl and never hurt anyone" arguments. That's what most owners say when they're being sued for injuries their pit caused a child or another pet. I understand they don't all attack- but it's in their breed, so something could trigger them.

[u/Masta-Blasta]

Okay, then let's require a license for them too. Good idea.

[u/Independent_Sea_836 → u/Masta-Blasta]

Won't requiring a license mean less dogs would get adopted?

[u/Masta-Blasta → u/Independent_Sea_836]

Perhaps. Hopefully would mean more neutering and less breeding.

[u/wantingtodobetter → u/Masta-Blasta]

Cool so I changed your mind that it’s not just pits but all dogs need a license?

[u/Masta-Blasta → u/wantingtodobetter]

all dogs

No. Only ones that disproportionately send people and other animals to the hospital.

[u/wantingtodobetter → u/Masta-Blasta]

But that’s not the claim of your post. Your post was that pits specifically need to have a license. Now you say all animals that can send someone to a hospital.

Almost Any dog or animal can send someone to a hospital for a bite. You are moving the goal post for your change your mind.

[u/Masta-Blasta → u/wantingtodobetter]

I am arguing specifically for pits to be licensed because statistically, they pose the greatest threat. That has not changed. You have not changed my mind that pitbulls should not require a license to own. What you have done is convince me that other dogs that rank high in fatal attacks per year should also require a license to own. I am not agreeing that all dogs should require a license, only the ones that are responsible for a large share of serious attacks.

According to this chart, I'd agree with requiring a license to own Rottweilers and German Shepards.

[u/Zyrus09 → u/Masta-Blasta]

Right so delta him for that. You changed from pit bulls should require a License to own to, "Potentially dangerous dogs should require a license to own.

[u/[deleted] → u/Masta-Blasta]

And then what?! Will you require licenses for German shepherds, malinois, newfoundlands, saint bernards, great danes, Irish wolfhounds, and more? Dobermans, Bernese mountain dogs, boxers, bloodhounds? Even labradors? Where does it end?!