Breed Legislation

700

​Estimated number of cities & towns that enforce breed-specific regulations such as BSL

100%

​Percentage of cities that have BSL where serious bite-related incidents continue to occur because safety is not a breed-specific issue

18,800

​Estimated number of cities & towns that rely exclusively on breed-neutral regulations
One of the unfortunate results of breed stereotypes, misinformation, and irresponsible ownership is breed-specific legislation, also known as breed discriminatory bans. For canine regulation, it is important to understand the differences between the two major forms of regulation - breed-specific legislation (BSL) and breed-neutral legislation (BNL). BSL is a limited, single-factor, appearance-based approach while BNL is a comprehensive, multifactorial, behavior-based approach. For public safety, BSL imposes regulations on a minority of dogs based only on their appearance or breed (regardless of a dog's behavior or responsible ownership) while breed-neutral regulations (BNL) address all potentially dangerous dogs, all irresponsible owners, and all unsafe dog-related situations - regardless of a dog's appearance or breed. Consequently, multiple peer-reviewed studies have concluded that BSL is ineffective; furthermore, it is a discriminatory trend in decline evidenced by the vast majority (over 96%) of cities and towns that use BNL as their primary and only form of regulation because of the many advantages of breed-neutral regulations summarized below.

Breed Specific Legislation (BSL)

Addresses a minority of potentially dangerous dogs
Used by less than 4% of Cities & Towns
  • Limited: Addresses a limited number of dogs based only on their appearance or assumed breed.
  • Appearance-based: Uses appearance as the primary factor for regulation regardless of a dog's behavior and regardless of responsible ownership.
  • Ineffective: Used by less than 4% (~700÷19,500) of U.S. cities and municipalities with limited or questionable success because dog bite prevention is not a breed-specific issue.
  • Discriminatory: Impacts a targeted population of dog owners regardless of their dog's behavior or responsible ownership.
  • Complicated: Breed identification and evaluation, such as DNA testing or an evaluation by a canine expert, is required.

Breed Neutral Legislation (BNL)

Addresses all potentially dangerous dogs
Used by more than ​96% of Cities & Towns
  • Comprehensive: Addresses all dangerous dogs regardless of appearance or breed.
  • Behavior-based: Uses an individual dog's history of problematic behavior and irresponsible ownership as the primary factors for regulation.
  • Effective: Used by more than 96% (~18,800÷19,500) of U.S. cities and municipalities with consistent success because dog bite prevention is applicable to all breeds.
  • Equitable: Impacts all dog owners and holds all dog owners accountable for their dog's behavior and encourages responsible ownership of all dogs.
  • Straightforward: Addresses dangerous dogs of all breeds, there is no need for breed identification or evaluation.
Unfortunately, the small minority (less than 4%) of cities and towns that have BSL likely enacted it based on unreliable information or as a reactive response to an isolated incident. The result is that these local governments are left with an inferior form of canine regulation and are then burdened with various legal complexities, challenges, and expenses related to BSL without any measured improvement to dog bite prevention or public safety. Consequently, Breed Neutral Legislation (BNL) is the common and widely preferred standard more than 96% of cities and towns where BSL is not enacted or has already been repealed.
Breed specific ordinances have proven ineffective in reducing the ... number of dog bites. Breed specific legislation ... has generally been discredited in actual experience of cities, professionals and academic research as being both ineffective and expensive.
- City Attorney’s Office, Topeka, Kansas

Why BSL Is Ineffective

1. BSL is not based on science: 
​There are zero scientific, peer-reviewed studies that conclude that any one breed or dog type is "inherently more dangerous" than any other breed. However, multiple peer-reviewed studies have concluded that breed does not determine risk and that BSL is ineffective.

​2. BSL addresses irrelevant factors:
A dog's physical appearance is determined by less than 1% of its genes; therefore, appearance-based bans like BSL completely ignore the other 99% of an individual dog's overall traits and characteristics that are more relevant to influence a dog's probability of being dangerous such as an individual dog's behavior, disposition, and temperament. Furthermore, BSL does nothing to address the most important factors that are scientifically linked to serious dog bite-related incidents such as behavioral issues and irresponsible ownership.

​3. BSL doesn't address the significant factors for public safety:
Peer-reviewed studies have concluded that preventable factors related to irresponsible ownership are the primary cause for the majority of dog bite-related fatalities and that breed is not a factor. BSL does nothing to address the relevant and most significant factors that are scientifically linked to serious dog bite-related incidents such as a dog's history of negative behavior, previous bite-related incidents, and factors related to irresponsible ownership.
There is no evidence that breed-specific laws reduce dog bites or attacks on people and they divert resources from more effective animal control and public safety initiatives.
​- Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)​

Universal Rejection of BSL

Because of the many advantages of breed-neutral legislation (BNL) over breed-specific legislation (BSL), virtually all reputable canine organizations, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the American Bar Association, and many other organizations have either made position statements rejecting BSL, have adopted policy positions against BSL, or support repealing BSL including:
The American Bar Association urges all state, territorial, and local legislative bodies and governmental agencies to adopt comprehensive breed-neutral ... laws that ensure due process protections for owners, encourage responsible pet ownership and focus on the behavior of both dog owners and dogs, and to repeal any breed discriminatory or breed specific provisions.
​- American Bar Association, August 2012

Dog Bite Prevention & Public Safety

28

Average yearly dog bite-related fatalities by dogs of all breeds in the U.S.

79

Average yearly fatalities due to hornets, wasps, and bees in the U.S.

40,300

Average yearly fatalities due to
​motor vehicles in the U.S.

Dog Bite Prevention

Multiple peer-reviewed studies on dog bite-related fatalities (DBRFs) have concluded that comprehensive, breed-neutral, multifactorial approaches to dog bite prevention are the most effective tool for reducing or preventing serious dog bite-related incidents. For public safety, these studies strongly favor comprehensive approaches that employ breed-neutral policies which address relevant factors such as irresponsible ownership and canine behavior issues over limited, single-factor approaches such as breed-specific legislation (BSL). A comprehensive breed-neutral approach focuses on the responsible ownership of all dogs, regardless of appearance or breed, and can include:
  • Increased funding for animal control departments for additional staff, improving public awareness of dog-related issues, educational programs to promote responsible ownership, and subsidized (or free) spay/neuter programs
  • Improved awareness and reporting of irresponsible ownership (such as abuse or neglect) and canine behavior problems
  • Improved awareness and enforcement of existing breed-neutral ordinances such as leash laws, spay/neuter laws, and regulations that address aggressive or dangerous dogs
  • Licensing or registration programs for breeders to help identify and prevent illegal and/or irresponsible breeding
  • Significantly increased fines and/or penalties for irresponsible ownership, dog bite-related injuries, and/or irresponsible breeding

Public Safety

Every year in the U.S. there are an average of:
  • 58,300 fatalities due to unintentional poisonings (source)
  • 40,300 fatalities due to motor vehicles (source)
  • ​79 fatalities due to hornets, wasps, and bees (source)
  • 51 fatalities due to lightning-strikes (source)
  • 28 fatalities due to dog bites (total by all breeds) (source)
While dog bite-related incidents are a serious and important issue, any legislation regulating motor vehicles (for risks such as texting while driving) would yield much larger gains to public safety compared to legislation attempting to regulate dogs based on their appearance. For any one person, the average fatality risk from an unintentional poisoning is approximately ~2,000x higher, from motor vehicles is ~1,400x higher, from hornets/wasps/bees is ~3x higher, from a lighting strike is ~2x higher... than the risk of a fatality due to a dog (of any breed). Motor vehicles are the cause of more fatalities in 8 hours of one day (~36) than dogs cause all year (~28).

Furthermore, with an average of 28 dog bite-related fatalities by dogs of all breeds in the U.S. every year and a population of ~330 million, for any one person the average yearly fatality risk from a dog (of any breed) is approximately 1 in 12 million. The average yearly fatality risk from a lightning strike is approximately 1 in 6 million and is commonly described as "incredibly rare". Unfortunate events and injuries happen every day in society, but very rare and isolated events should not drive our public policy. Learn how to repeal BSL if it is enacted in your community.
Canine temperaments are widely varied, and behavior cannot be predicted by physical features ... The only predictor of behavior is behavior. The solution to preventing dog bites is education of owners, breeder, and the general public about aggression prevention, not legislation directed at certain breeds.
- The Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT)