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New
Zealand BSL fightback
DOG
OWNERS in New Zealand are staging a massive fightback against
proposed Breed Specific Legislation and an anti-dog media onslaught
in which Staffordshire Bull terriers are erroneously cited as
‘dangerous dogs’, following a spate of particularly
nasty dog attacks, two of which involved children.
Radio stations and TV programs still hyping the dangerous dogs
issue, taking a decidedly anti-dog stance which has led to many
dog owners – even those with non-bull breeds – being
harangued in public. The organised anti lobby group are driving
a huge campaign, enlisting the backing of the father of one of
the child victims as a spokesman calling for draconian BSL.
Anti BSL campaigner Marion Harding of the New Zealand Staffordshire
Bull Terrier Club told OUR DOGS: "Carolina Anderson’s
father threatened this and he is achieving it. The Government
has placed the Local Government Amendment Bill (No 2) (the part
pertaining to Dog Control only) back to a Parliamentary select
committee. This amendment bill is an amendment to the existing
Dog control Act 1996 that was put before a select committee in
November 1999 and passed by that committee then. It went into
someone's bottom drawer and stayed there until it resurfaced last
week.
Marion explains that the media in New Zealand are perpetrating
exactly the same misinformation against ‘dangerous breeds’
as the British media did in 1991 and more recently the German
media in 2000. After these media onslaughts, BSL-related legislation
was enacted in both cases.
"The media continues to misname the breed-type of dogs involved
in the attacks on two children, even though the respective city
council officials have verified that they were crossbreeds with
no resemblance to American Staffordshire Terriers or Staffordshire
Bull Terriers," adds Marion.
Marion goes on to explain an interesting example of how breed
specific laws do not work in practice: "One interesting story
appears this week in a local newspaper of a woman breeding ‘staffie
pitbull cross’ puppies. She says she has bred 78 puppies
from two bitches in the last 2 and half years and never had any
trouble. There is a photo of a Bull Terrier and another of what
looks as though it could be a Staffordshire Bull Terrier.
" I followed this through myself. The local council dog control
people of that area told me today that one is registered as a
Bull Terrier and the other as a Staffie cross. This is the Kapiti
Coast District Council area. I knew that they had put a bylaw
in place that put Pitbulls on a restricted dog register. This
according to their bylaws meant that Pitbulls must all be spayed
and neutered, the registration fee is much higher, dogs must be
kept behind a high secure fence and muzzled in public. So, I asked
how this woman was able to breed pitbull crosses in their area.
"The long and the short of my conversation was that there
are now 275 Staffie crosses registered with the Kapiti Coast District
Council. There are NO pitbulls registered. The dog control officer
acknowledges that many of those 275 are not Staffie crosses and
are pitbulls.
He says that they are better registered as Staffie crosses where
he can keep an eye on them, than not being registered at all."
Over the past three weeks New Zealanders have been subjected to
daily accounts, reports and articles via newspapers, radio and
television about the dangerous dogs situation here.
On Sunday, 3rd February the Sunday Star Times newspaper ran a
one and a half page feature on dangerous dogs. It coincided with
the shocking news of a horrendous dog attack on 7year-old Carolina
Anderson while playing in a public park two days earlier. The
dog was eventually wrongfully named as an American Staffordshire
Terrier.
Carolina will require surgery on her face for years to come and
the attack was roundly condemned by all responsible dog owners.
However, the Sunday Star Times feature was ready to go to press
prior to the attack. In that article the reporter referred to
the ‘dangerous breeds’ being the so-called ‘fighting
breeds’. There was an illustration of three ‘breeds’
of dogs with a short description about them under each photo.
One was of two Pit Bulls, one was a Staffordshire Bull Terrier
and the other was a Bull Terrier. The heading above the picture
was 'THE BREEDS'. There were short descriptions underneath each
photo.
But of great concern to Staffordshire Bull Terrier owners in New
Zealand was the inclusion of the Staffordshire Bull Terrier in
the first place, particularly as there have been no factual incidents
of Staffordshire Bull Terriers biting anyone.
As was the situation in the UK in 1991, the resulting media outcry
increased to a level of hysteria. The father of the little girl
who had been attacked had a meeting with Prime Minister Helen
Clarke and showed her photos of Carolina's face straight after
the attack. The Prime Minister commented on TV News after the
meeting that "The photos were horrific".
She promised to bring in tighter Dog Control legislation, mentioning
the banning of certain dangerous breeds as one option and muzzling
all dogs when in public. The Prime Minister has promised to put
through legislation quickly. She has called for all Territorial
Authorities (local government authorities) to put forward submissions
by Wednesday 19th February with regard to the existing Dog Control
Act 1996 and its effectiveness.
In the meantime the offending dog's destruction was ordered and
the owners now await sentencing. At this point positive identification
of the dog was made and it was a crossbreed. It was neither an
American Staffordshire Terrier nor, crucially a Staffordshire
Bull Terrier.
Two weeks later, another child was badly bitten requiring 200
stitches to his face. Angel Daniels was riding his bike in the
backyard when visiting his Aunt. The Aunt's dog was on a short
chain in the backyard. Angel apparently ran into the dog. The
newspapers reported the dog to be a Staffordshire Terrier. The
Manukau City Council Dog control has since identified the dog
as a crossbreed. However, the New Zealand media and politicians
appear extremely reluctant to acknowledge these facts and appear
hell bent on demonising the Staffordshire Bull terrier as a ‘dangerous
breed’. |
