Some things start off idiotic and then go downhill from there. Take for instance the rally by the pitbull owners to fight the law that has been passed to safeguard the public from these dangerous animals. One look at the group’s event advertising and what jumps out is the capitalised “Do not bring your dogs,” which, if you know me at all and because it seemed like such a strange and bizarre admonition for a pro-pit-bull rally, I found myself asking why?
Why leave out the star of the show in all his foaming, snarling glory? Is it because they know full well that the public associates any image of that animal with death? Or were they afraid of a couple of these cuties taking a turn at each other or, worse, innocent onlookers?
I asked (politely) if I could bring the survivors of pitbull attacks and the families who lost loved ones (when these cute and cuddly monsters “trip off and go feral”) just to show the handiwork of this breed, the one responsible for more than 90 per cent of the killings by canines in this country, but I was turned down. I guess there’s no room for things like truth and evidence when misdirection is the flavour of the day.
The fact that the word “pitbull” made it onto the top ten words for fear alongside long-time heavy hitters like “shark,” “snake,” “fire” and “rape” took some doing, wouldn’t you think? And the fact that that fact alone prompted the American Kennel Association to rename (yes, believe it or not) the pitbull the Staffordshire Terrier to get around zoning laws in areas that specifically prohibits the breed and any derivatives of it is again a classic example of misdirection.
The best deflection of all is that there are no dangerous dogs, only bad owners. If this is indeed the case then what a remarkable coincidence that all the bad owners ended up choosing this one particular breed to mess with. Doesn’t that strike you as just a tad strange?
Moving on. The trained deflectors have resorted to an immediate fear campaign to fool the public, and as we’re here I would like to take this opportunity to debunk all for you in quick time:
• Thousands of pitbulls will be “released” by people who cannot afford them under the new legislation. False. Releasing any animal is first and foremost a cruelty to animals charge, and could also attract a public endangerment charge among others for releasing a dangerous animal.
Should the worst occur the Ministry of Agriculture (not the TTSPCA) has the legal responsibility to deal with this and can, so don’t be fooled by visions of packs of pitbulls roaming the streets.
• Pitbull owners will switch to another “dangerous” breed. False. Firstly, while there are other big and ferocious dogs, none are as predisposed or purposely bred for these traits as a pitbull. Secondly, the psyche profile of a pitbull owner is different to the psyche profile of a dog or a pet owner. These people do not get pitbulls because they want a dog, they get pitbulls because they want pitbulls and all the machismo that comes with it.
• Bandits will overrun the country. Steups.
I for one am very impressed with the testicular fortitude demonstrated by the Attorney General in bringing this legislation and making it law. I always say I will support anyone who is doing right by the people of this country, and this legislation, short of an outright ban on these ridiculously ferocious animals, is the absolute right thing to do.
Every single pitbull owner who was in turn mauled to death by his own dogs must have felt like a right fool and complete moronic idiot at the end when (surprise, surprise) all the nonsense they were spewing about the cuddliness of the breed came home to haunt them in spades.
Everything else they come up with in defence of this trade is pure hogwash and should be ignored. I implore you to keep this one thought in your mind: While a greyhound is bred for speed and a pompek or a Chihuahua for size, a pitbull is specifically bred to fight other ferocious and aggressive animals to the death, and to hold on to whatever it has sunk its teeth into until it stops breathing.
Mr Attorney General, on behalf of all those who survived senseless, unprovoked and horrendous attacks (albeit scarred for life) and those who (sadly) did not, I say thank you. But more importantly, on behalf of the generations who will grow up in a country of fewer and fewer of these obscenely ferocious animals where the risk of an unexpected, murderous attack will become less and less, I say thank you very much indeed.
Via e-mail
Why leave out the star of the show in all his foaming, snarling glory? Is it because they know full well that the public associates any image of that animal with death? Or were they afraid of a couple of these cuties taking a turn at each other or, worse, innocent onlookers?
I asked (politely) if I could bring the survivors of pitbull attacks and the families who lost loved ones (when these cute and cuddly monsters “trip off and go feral”) just to show the handiwork of this breed, the one responsible for more than 90 per cent of the killings by canines in this country, but I was turned down. I guess there’s no room for things like truth and evidence when misdirection is the flavour of the day.
The fact that the word “pitbull” made it onto the top ten words for fear alongside long-time heavy hitters like “shark,” “snake,” “fire” and “rape” took some doing, wouldn’t you think? And the fact that that fact alone prompted the American Kennel Association to rename (yes, believe it or not) the pitbull the Staffordshire Terrier to get around zoning laws in areas that specifically prohibits the breed and any derivatives of it is again a classic example of misdirection.
The best deflection of all is that there are no dangerous dogs, only bad owners. If this is indeed the case then what a remarkable coincidence that all the bad owners ended up choosing this one particular breed to mess with. Doesn’t that strike you as just a tad strange?
Moving on. The trained deflectors have resorted to an immediate fear campaign to fool the public, and as we’re here I would like to take this opportunity to debunk all for you in quick time:
• Thousands of pitbulls will be “released” by people who cannot afford them under the new legislation. False. Releasing any animal is first and foremost a cruelty to animals charge, and could also attract a public endangerment charge among others for releasing a dangerous animal.
Should the worst occur the Ministry of Agriculture (not the TTSPCA) has the legal responsibility to deal with this and can, so don’t be fooled by visions of packs of pitbulls roaming the streets.
• Pitbull owners will switch to another “dangerous” breed. False. Firstly, while there are other big and ferocious dogs, none are as predisposed or purposely bred for these traits as a pitbull. Secondly, the psyche profile of a pitbull owner is different to the psyche profile of a dog or a pet owner. These people do not get pitbulls because they want a dog, they get pitbulls because they want pitbulls and all the machismo that comes with it.
• Bandits will overrun the country. Steups.
I for one am very impressed with the testicular fortitude demonstrated by the Attorney General in bringing this legislation and making it law. I always say I will support anyone who is doing right by the people of this country, and this legislation, short of an outright ban on these ridiculously ferocious animals, is the absolute right thing to do.
Every single pitbull owner who was in turn mauled to death by his own dogs must have felt like a right fool and complete moronic idiot at the end when (surprise, surprise) all the nonsense they were spewing about the cuddliness of the breed came home to haunt them in spades.
Everything else they come up with in defence of this trade is pure hogwash and should be ignored. I implore you to keep this one thought in your mind: While a greyhound is bred for speed and a pompek or a Chihuahua for size, a pitbull is specifically bred to fight other ferocious and aggressive animals to the death, and to hold on to whatever it has sunk its teeth into until it stops breathing.
Mr Attorney General, on behalf of all those who survived senseless, unprovoked and horrendous attacks (albeit scarred for life) and those who (sadly) did not, I say thank you. But more importantly, on behalf of the generations who will grow up in a country of fewer and fewer of these obscenely ferocious animals where the risk of an unexpected, murderous attack will become less and less, I say thank you very much indeed.
Via e-mail
