Why People Who Care About Pit Bull Welfare Support Breed Protection

Good for Montréal! The city council has voted for legislation that requires all pit bulls to be sterilized, microchipped, and vaccinated for rabies by March 2017 and registered by the end of this year—all of which responsible dog guardians do anyway. This law will help ensure that pit bulls are well cared for and will prevent more dogs from being born only to worsen the homelessness crisis. Let’s talk some sense into people who are yelling, “Discrimination!”

Consider this: Pit bulls are, hands down, the most abused dogs on the planet. They are the breed most often found stuck in a filthy patch of dirt on a heavy chain 24/7, with flies—drawn to their accumulated waste—biting their ears bloody in summer and only a leaky plastic barrel (or nothing at all) for shelter during winter snowstorms; thrown into dogfighting rings to rip each other to shreds (and electrocuted, drowned, or hanged if they lose—remember Michael Vick?); and beaten, starved, and taunted to make them “mean” and intimidating. They are also the number one breed admitted to animal shelters, and tens of thousands of them are destroyed each year for lack of a good home.

Preventing more pit bulls from ending up this way isn’t breed-specific “discrimination”—it’s breed-specific protection.

PETA supports laws requiring pit bulls to be spayed or neutered, just as we support spay/neuter laws for all dogs. Why would we want more dogs to be bred? Anyone who wants to stop needless euthanasia should wholeheartedly support laws that prevent more dogs from being born only to end up homeless. No “no-kill” policy can work until we have a “no-birth” policy.

Some pit bulls are lucky enough to have loving, responsible homes, and PETA wants those dogs to stay in them.

But please, if you care about pit bulls, help work for spay/neuter requirements and anti-chaining laws. Urge people who keep their dogs chained to let them live indoors as members of the family. And always report abuse and neglect. Pit bulls need all the friends they can get.