BSL Continues To Crumble
Since only 2018, at least 33 cities have successfully repealed and eliminated their ineffective and obsolete bans against "pitbull-type" dogs in favor of more effective breed-neutral policies that are based on modern best practices for preventing and reducing serious dog bite-related incidents. The bans, also known as breed-specific legislation (BSL), target dogs (and their owners) based only on a dog's appearance or breed, regardless of a dog's behavior and regardless of responsible ownership - an archaic and discriminatory policy that multiple peer-reviewed studies have determined to be entirely ineffective for public safety. Even the federal government is against breed-specific bans as the Department of Transportation recently opposed a major U.S. airline's ban against pitbull-type service dogs. Almost always, ineffective appearance-based policies such as BSL are replaced with stronger and more equitable behavior-based, breed-neutral regulations which are more effective because they address all potentially dangerous dogs, all irresponsible owners, and all unsafe dog-related situations - regardless of a dog's appearance or breed. Congratulations to the cities and towns listed below for repealing their discriminatory dog bans and improving public safety with sensible breed-neutral best practices to reduce dog bite-related incidents.
