Best Friends Challenges Dog Slaughter Laws

Denver summit highlights need to protect innocent pets and their families from canine profiling

November 16, 2006 3:23 PM

KANAB, Utah - Nov.15, 2006 - Twenty-six breeds of dogs currently banned somewhere in the United States... More than 100 cities nationwide indiscriminately rounding up and killing family pets for looking like the kind of dog that might attack someone... Two thousand so-called "dangerous dogs" killed in Denver during 2005 alone.

These were just some of the horrifying statistics provided at an emergency summit convened by Best Friends Animal Society in Denver Colorado, in late October to address the growing trend by local authorities to solve dog aggression problems in their communities by imposing "dog slaughter laws."

These laws ban entire breeds, even, in some places Labradors and golden retrievers, requiring officials to round up and kill any family pets who look as though they fit the profile. This easy-option trend accomplishes nothing beyond the pointless death of an estimated 5,000 family dogs each week.

"Best Friends is opposed to these dog slaughter laws," said Michael Mountain, president of Best Friends Animal Society. "They target innocent pets and their people instead of the irresponsible and often criminally abusive owners, breeders and trainers who raise aggressive dogs for sport and profit. Responsible breeders share our concern about the exploitation of dogs who are themselves the victims of this growing culture of violence."

Attendees at the summit came from all over the country to share their own horror stories of the devastating impact that dog slaughter laws are having in their communities. Animal control officers, canine-training experts, lawyers, breeders, shelter managers, inner-city violence prevention authorities, and medical experts stressed the need for Best Friends to take immediate action to stop what has become the canine equivalent of racial profiling.

These experts clearly demonstrated to us how totally counter-productive these dog slaughter laws are," said Mountain. "They also urged us to address the fundamental problem: the culture of violence thats impacting dogs, irresponsible people, and impressionable teenagers who are being drawn into a world of crime, drugs, and further violence."

As a result of the summit, Best Friends is working with groups and individuals around the country to replace dog slaughter ordinances with laws that crack down on the cynical breeders, irresponsible owners and abusive trainers who use these innocent dogs for criminal purposes.

As part of its campaign to end dog slaughter laws, Best Friends has established an online community to provide updates, legislative tools, resources, and forums to share information. This public forum can be found at www.stopdogslaughterlaws.com.

"It's time to replace the culture of violence with one of kindness," Mountain said. "Working together, we can bring an end to the needless daily slaughter of these dogs in our communities."

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Best Friends Animal Society operates the country's largest sanctuary for homeless animals, and provides adoption, spay/neuter, and educational programs nationwide. For more information, go to www.bestfriends.org