Recently, Russellville, Kentucky police chief Barry Dill announced a plan to round up dogs believed to be "pit bulls" if their owners are not in compliance with licensing, insurance and other requirements.  

Dill explained that when officers see a dog in someone's back yard that they think is a "pit bull" and there is no license or compliance with other requirements, they will post a notice on the owner's door that demands surrender of the pet.

Russellville's ordinances define "vicious dog" to include "pit bulls". Residents who own these dogs must obtain special "vicious dog" licenses and $300,000 in liability insurance for any injuries and damages that may be caused by the dog. Sec. 90.33 The city has a number of other confinement, warning, maintenance and reporting requirements for so called "vicious" dogs or "pit bulls", and the dogs are subject to inspection.

Violations can mean fines of $250 and in some cases $500 for second and subsequent offenses, civil penalties and jail time.  Sec. 90.99 A violation also now means the loss of the pet dog.

"Pit bull dog" is defined as any "dog which exhibits those distinguishing characteristics which substantially conform to the standards established by the American Kennel Club for American Staffordshire Terrier, or Staffordshire Bull Terriers, or substantially conform to the standards established by the United Kennel Club for American Pit Bull Terriers, including any mixed breed of dog which contains as an element of its breeding the breed of Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, or American Pit Bull Terrier." Sec. 90.15

An "element of the breed" could include a dog with less than 1% of the DNA of pit bull breeds.

The Logan County Humane Society is attempting to place as many of the targeted dogs out of the city as possible. Many owners cannot find or afford the $300,000 liability insurance required for "pit bulls".  Onerous insurance requirements are used by local governments to force owners to surrender or remove dogs believed to be "pit bulls".

Breed discrimnatory laws do not make communities safe.

There is not one major animal or health organization including the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Centers for Disease Control, among many others, that supports breed discrimination.

Breed specific legislation does not work to make communities safe. Study after study has proven this. Dogs don't bite because of breed or appearance; they bite out of fear that could have been the result of poor socialization, neglect, abuse, tethering or confinement or isolation.  In other words, it is the owner's negligent or criminal actions that are responsible, not the dog's breed or appearance.

BSL penalizes responsible dog owners and means the death of dogs that are not in any way dangerous.

It is also well-established that people cannot look at a dog and determine its breed. Recently, in Denver Dr. Victoria Voith did a little test on animal shelter directors, dog trainers and others who work with dogs. 

They were asked to view 20 dogs on a videotape and identify each one by breed including whether the dog was a purebred or a mix. The professionals were surprised by how few dogs they identified correctly by breed. Voith believes as many as 75% of the pit bull identifications made by shelter workers, animal control or law enforcement are wrong. She is the author of Shelter Medicine: A Comparison of Visual and DNA Identifications of BREEDS of Dogs.  As DNA testing becomes more reliable, it is proving that many of the dogs identified as pit bull are actually a mix of dozens of breeds with little or none of the DNA of pit bull type dogs. 

That means a lot of dogs condemned by BSL are not even "pit bull" breeds.    

BSL is a very costly negative for a community and state and will create a climate where dogs are viewed as enemies rather than family members requiring proper care, management and love.  Go here for ways to improve relations in the community with dogs and also how to address the reasons dogs bite and keep communities safe.