800 Pit Bulls Killed in Miami Last Year - Just Because of Their Breed... This Must Stop Now

Please act today to prevent discriminatory dog breed legislation in Florida.

Florida State Rep. Perry E. Thurston, Jr. filed H.B. 189, "an act relating to dangerous dogs," to repeal the prohibition on breed discriminatory legislation (BDL) in Florida. An identical bill, S.B. 922, has also been filed by Senator Anthony C. Hill.H.B. 189 and S.B. 922 would allow any Florida local government to restrict or regulate any breed of dog. A similar effort to legislate BDL was unsuccessful in 2008.

Currently Miami-Dade is the only county in Florida that is allowed to "profile" dogs and destroy them because of this. They enacted a "pit bull" ban in 1989 and last year around 800 "pit bulls" were picked up and destroyed simply because of their breed.

Best Friends opposes canine profiling. The problem of dangerous dogs is not remedied by the quick fix of breed-discriminatory laws. All dogs can bite. Studies of pre and post breed ban dog bite rates in the United Kingdom and Spain concluded that their pit bull breed ban had no effect whatsoever on reducing dog bites.

• Breed discriminatory laws cause unintended hardship to responsible owners of entirely friendly, properly supervised and well-socialized dogs that happen to fall within the regulated breed category.
• Although these dog owners have done nothing to endanger the public, they may be forced by the municipality to either give up their dogs or move out of their home.
• The pets that are given up are killed. How You Can HelpPolitics is not a spectator sport. Please take action on behalf of animals.

H.B. 192 was referred to the committee on January 22, 2009. Florida residents are asked to please write the members of the House Agricultural and Natural Resources Policy Committee and ask them to vote "NO" on H.B. 189

Also, constituents are asked to please write or call your Florida Representatives and Senators and respectfully ask them to vote "NO" on H.B. 189 and S.B. 922, "an act relating to dangerous dogs." Local governments already have the ability to adopt regulations regarding dangerous dogs and protect the public as they see fit.

Breed bans are ineffective, costly to enforce, and penalize responsible dog owners. Visit the Best Friends Network for contact information.

Please act today.