Blog by Michelle Garvey, Junior Associate

Pit bull bans have been implemented in nearly 50 countries, with the United Kingdom being one of the latest countries to put a pit bull ban into effect.^[1] The Dangerous Dogs (Designated Types) (England and Wales) Order 2023 went into effect December 31, 2023 and extended to England and Wales.^[2] This order exercised the powers conferred by the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 to make it “illegal to breed, sell, exchange, advertise, gift, rehome or abandon an XL bully type dog, or allow them to stray, and the dogs will have to be muzzled in public”.^[3] Starting February 1, 2024, “it will be a criminal offense to own an XL bully type dog unless the owner has received a certificate of exemption for the dog”.^[4] Even if the pit bull has not acted dangerously or no complaints have been made against them, the police or local council dog warden can take the dog.^[5]

Although these bans are “intended to improve community safety and comfort,” the effects are minimal and there are many consequences to this ban.^[6] When certain breeds are regulated, those who exploit aggression in dogs switch to exploiting other unregulated breeds.^[7] For example, after Winnipeg, Canada’s 1990 pit bull ban, Rottweiler bites “increased dramatically”.^[8] An Owner and Training Director of a professional dog training business in Nevada explained most of the dog aggression cases he had worked with “‘are because the human has failed the dog’”.^[9] Additionally, the Training Director states that “‘[i]t’s not the dog’s fault and this may apply to many different breeds’”.^[10] This supports the notion that breed itself is not the whole problem and a pit bull ban would not give a complete solution to the government’s interest in community safety. Under a breed-specific ban approach, responsible owners and non-aggressive dogs are punished for the acts of some irresponsible owners.^[11]

Other solutions to community safety include breed-neutral legislation that focuses on the “irresponsible and dangerous behavior of individual guardians and their dogs”.^[12]  After Winnipeg, Canada enacted a breed-neutral dangerous dog law in 2000, “total dog bites decreased significantly”.^[13] An example of breed-neutral legislation is graduated penalties on dog owners according to the gravity of the dog’s behavior.^[14] After Multnomah County, Oregon enacted a statute similar to this, repeat injurious bites dropped from 25 percent to 7 percent.^[15] Breed-neutral legislation may be a more efficient, compassionate, fair and effective solution to community safety.^[16]

^[1] Countries that Ban Pit Bulls 2024, World Population Rev. (last visited Nov. 6, 2024), https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-that-ban-pit-bulls.

^[2] Dangerous Dogs (Designated Types) (England and Wales) Order 2023, No. 1164 (UK), https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/1164.

^[3] Id.

^[4] Clare Feikert-Ahalt, England and Wales: New Law Implements Ban on XL Bully Dog Breed, Libr. of Cong. (Jan. 12, 2024), https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2024-01-11/england-and-wales-new-law-implements-ban-on-xl-bully-dog-breed/#:~:text=To%20manage%20the%20existing%20population,to%20be%20muzzled%20in%20public.

^[5]Controlling your dog in public, Gov.UK (last visited Nov. 8, 2024), https://www.gov.uk/control-dog-public/banned-dogs.

^[6] Position Statement on Breed-Specific Legislation, Am. Soc’y for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (last visited Nov. 8, 2024), https://www.aspca.org/about-us/aspca-policy-and-position-statements/position-statement-breed-specific-legislation.

^[7] Id.

^[8] Id.

^[9] Amanda Durand, The Opposite Road: While the UK Bans Dog Breeds, Nevada Has Long Since Banned Breed-Based Discrimination, Reynolds Sch. of Journalism (Apr. 8,2024), https://hitchcockproject.org/the-opposite-road-while-the-uk-bans-dog-breeds-nevada-has-long-since-banned-breed-based-discrimination/.

^[10] Id.

^[11]Adalynne Wilkin, New UK law banning dogs is doing more harm than good, The Pioneer Press (Feb. 2, 2024), https://thepioneerpress.org/10288/opinion/new-uk-law-banning-dogs-is-doing-more-harm-than-good/.

^[12] Position Statement on Breed-Specific Legislation, supra note 6.

^[13] Id.

^[14] Id.

^[15] Id.

^[16] Id.