DogsBite.org Releases Data of Cities with Successful Pit Bull Laws; Data Shows Breed-Specific Laws Work
12 U.S. municipalities ranging in population size and the province of Ontario, Canada experienced a significant drop in pit bull biting incidents after adopting a breed-specific pit bull law.
Austin, TX, June 21, 2010 --(PR.com)-- On June 18, DogsBite.org, a national dog bite victims' group dedicated to reducing serious dog attacks, released data of municipalities across the country, and one instance in Canada, that showed the successful results a municipality experiences after adopting a breed-specific pit bull law. The data was gathered over a two-year period when instances appeared in news alerts designed to capture U.S. media reported pit bull attacks.
The data shows that 12 U.S. municipalities ranging in population size -- from 4,582 persons to over 800,000 persons -- and the province of Ontario, Canada experienced a significant drop in pit bull biting incidents after adopting a breed-specific pit bull law. Some of the laws adopted include: pit bull ban, mandatory pit bull sterilization, mandatory liability insurance for pit bulls, mandatory muzzling of pit bulls and prohibiting chaining. Municipalities contained in the data include:
Toronto, CA (population 2,503,281)
Prince George's County, MD (population 834,560)
San Francisco, CA (population 808,977)
Omaha, NE (population 438,646)
Springfield, MO (population 156,206)
Lancaster, CA (population 145,074)
Little Rock, AR (population 189,515)
Redding, PA (population 80,560)
Pawtucket, RI (population 71,765)
Council Bluffs, IA (population 58,268)
Salina, KS (population 46,140)
Fort Lupton, CO (population 6,787)
Wapato, WA (population 4,582)
Examples and source data are provided for each municipality. For instance, when the City of Woonsocket was debating a pit bull ordinance in June 2009, the animal control supervisor in Pawtucket, John Holmes, spoke about the great success of Pawtucket's 2003 pit bull ban:
Holmes says he predicted that it would take two years for Pawtucket to experience the full benefit of the law after it was passed, but the results were actually apparent in half the time. 'It's working absolutely fantastic,' said Holmes. 'We have not had a pit bull maiming in the city since December of 2004.'
In a separate example, when the City of Indianapolis was discussing a pit bull sterilization law in April 2009, Little Rock Animal Services Director Tracy Roark spoke about Little Rock's successful 2008 pit bull ordinance:
'There was a day when you could walk down any street in center city Little Rock, you could see several pit bulls chained up. You don't see that anymore,' said Tracy Roark with Little Rock Animal Services. Roark told Eyewitness News over the phone that pit bull attacks have been cut in half and credits their new law with getting them there.
The publisher of the data, DogsBite.org, also requests that additional U.S. municipalities who have implemented successful breed-specific pit bull laws share these results with DogsBite.org by emailing: bslresults@dogsbite.org. The dog bite victims' group intends to add numerous applicable U.S. municipalities to this collection of data to create a single and easily accessible entry point for municipalities who are researching and considering breed-specific pit bull laws.
View the data and access source news articles:
http://blog.dogsbite.org/2010/06/cities-with-successful-pit-bull-laws.html
About DogsBite.org
DogsBite.org is a national dog bite victims' group dedicated to reducing serious dog attacks. Through our work, we hope to protect both people and pets from future attacks. Our website, www.dogsbite.org, was launched in October 2007 and contains a wide collection of data to help policymakers and citizens learn about dangerous dogs. Our research focuses on pit bull type dogs. Due to selective breeding practices that emphasize aggression and tenacity, this class of dogs negatively impacts communities the most. Our website hosts important dog bite studies, U.S. dog bite fatalities and other key bibliographies. In the Legislating Dogs portion of our site, we offer examples of breed-specific laws (state-by-state) and documentation of the constitutionality of these laws. The Victim Realities section provides a glance into the unforgettable stories victims leave behind and much more. DogsBite.org operates out of Texas and can be contacted via: press@dogsbite.org. Research contributions and active website participation stems from individuals that span the United States of America and across the world.
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The data shows that 12 U.S. municipalities ranging in population size -- from 4,582 persons to over 800,000 persons -- and the province of Ontario, Canada experienced a significant drop in pit bull biting incidents after adopting a breed-specific pit bull law. Some of the laws adopted include: pit bull ban, mandatory pit bull sterilization, mandatory liability insurance for pit bulls, mandatory muzzling of pit bulls and prohibiting chaining. Municipalities contained in the data include:
Toronto, CA (population 2,503,281)
Prince George's County, MD (population 834,560)
San Francisco, CA (population 808,977)
Omaha, NE (population 438,646)
Springfield, MO (population 156,206)
Lancaster, CA (population 145,074)
Little Rock, AR (population 189,515)
Redding, PA (population 80,560)
Pawtucket, RI (population 71,765)
Council Bluffs, IA (population 58,268)
Salina, KS (population 46,140)
Fort Lupton, CO (population 6,787)
Wapato, WA (population 4,582)
Examples and source data are provided for each municipality. For instance, when the City of Woonsocket was debating a pit bull ordinance in June 2009, the animal control supervisor in Pawtucket, John Holmes, spoke about the great success of Pawtucket's 2003 pit bull ban:
Holmes says he predicted that it would take two years for Pawtucket to experience the full benefit of the law after it was passed, but the results were actually apparent in half the time. 'It's working absolutely fantastic,' said Holmes. 'We have not had a pit bull maiming in the city since December of 2004.'
In a separate example, when the City of Indianapolis was discussing a pit bull sterilization law in April 2009, Little Rock Animal Services Director Tracy Roark spoke about Little Rock's successful 2008 pit bull ordinance:
'There was a day when you could walk down any street in center city Little Rock, you could see several pit bulls chained up. You don't see that anymore,' said Tracy Roark with Little Rock Animal Services. Roark told Eyewitness News over the phone that pit bull attacks have been cut in half and credits their new law with getting them there.
The publisher of the data, DogsBite.org, also requests that additional U.S. municipalities who have implemented successful breed-specific pit bull laws share these results with DogsBite.org by emailing: bslresults@dogsbite.org. The dog bite victims' group intends to add numerous applicable U.S. municipalities to this collection of data to create a single and easily accessible entry point for municipalities who are researching and considering breed-specific pit bull laws.
View the data and access source news articles:
http://blog.dogsbite.org/2010/06/cities-with-successful-pit-bull-laws.html
About DogsBite.org
DogsBite.org is a national dog bite victims' group dedicated to reducing serious dog attacks. Through our work, we hope to protect both people and pets from future attacks. Our website, www.dogsbite.org, was launched in October 2007 and contains a wide collection of data to help policymakers and citizens learn about dangerous dogs. Our research focuses on pit bull type dogs. Due to selective breeding practices that emphasize aggression and tenacity, this class of dogs negatively impacts communities the most. Our website hosts important dog bite studies, U.S. dog bite fatalities and other key bibliographies. In the Legislating Dogs portion of our site, we offer examples of breed-specific laws (state-by-state) and documentation of the constitutionality of these laws. The Victim Realities section provides a glance into the unforgettable stories victims leave behind and much more. DogsBite.org operates out of Texas and can be contacted via: press@dogsbite.org. Research contributions and active website participation stems from individuals that span the United States of America and across the world.
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www.dogsbite.org
Colleen Lynn
206-260-2915
www.dogsbite.org
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