Update Aug. 29, 2008: Rep. John Galloway has clarified that he did not intend to allow breed discrimination in Pennsylvania with his bill. Rep. Galloway has amended the bill to prohibit municipalities from banning specific breeds. 

"It was never my intent to allow communities to ban dogs depending on their breed," Galloway said. "That being said, some have misinterpreted the bill and thought it would open the door for breed specific bans. I have amended my bill so that will not be allowed to happen." Apparently, Rep. Galloway intended to allow municipalites to enact their own dangerous dog ordinances

For more on this bill, read Animal Law Coalition's original report below.

Original report: Pennsylvania law forbids breed discrimination. Section 459.507-A(c). Click here to find other states that do not allow breed bans or other breed specific legislation. 

But Pennyslvania State Rep. John Galloway has introduced a bill, H.B. 2553, that would repeal the ban on breed discrimination. This bill would allow local governments to ban or regulate dogs based on breed.

H.B. 2553 has been assigned to the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Click here to find committee members. Write or call and urge them to reject this bill, H.B. 2553.

TALKING POINTS

Breed bans or restrictions usually single out pit-bull-type dogs. These pit-bull bans are over-inclusive: All pit-bull types are targeted, yet the chance of being attacked and killed by a pit bull is one in 145 million.

Pit-bull bans are also under-inclusive: These bans do not target all dogs that present a danger to the public. Look at the bite statistics in your own community. Typically, a number of types of breeds and mixed breeds are responsible for bites. For example, pit bulls and pit-bull mixes were responsible for only 8% of bites in one community considering a pit-bull ban. A pit-bull ban wouldn't have protected the public from the dogs that caused 92% of the bites.

If dogs bite or attack, it's not because they belong to a particular breed. Rather, it's usually because of owner irresponsibility: The dog may not have been socialized or trained properly. The dog may have been abused, chained, neglected or isolated. Or the dog may have been bred or trained to be aggressive.

Pit-bull bans also strain the resources of already underfunded animal control departments. The bans are expensive to enforce and are subject to legal challenges that can be costly for local governments.

Communities are not safer unless responsible leaders address the real reasons dogs bite:

     1. Pass an effective potentially dangerous dog ordinance that recognizes that any dog, regardless of breed, is potentially dangerous or considered dangerous if the dog has demonstrated aggressive behavior. The dangerous dog law should allow for different levels of aggressive behavior. The point is to protect the public by encouraging owners to take action to control and manage their dogs - through spay/neuter, training and pet owner responsibility classes - before their dogs' behavior causes them to be classified at a higher level of aggression.

The law would assign dogs a level of potential danger, with restrictions and penalties for each level.

A potentially dangerous dog law would require spay/neuter, education and training to encourage owners to take responsibility before a serious injury or death occurs.

Dogs and owners can earn lower levels and dogs can even be declared no longer potentially dangerous. 

2. Encourage spay/neuter and support funding for free or low cost spay/neuter.

90% of fatal dog attacks are by dogs that have not been spayed/neutered: There is not a single  case of a fatal dog attack by a spayed/neutered pit bull type dog (National Canine Research Council);     

81% of dogs involved in bite incidents were not spayed/neutered (Texas 2002 Severe Animal Attack and Bite Surveillance Summary)

Research cited in a 2000 Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association study indicated unsterilized dogs are 2.6 times more likely to bite.

   3. Mandate spay/neuter for:

Dogs adopted from shelters or rescues or sold by pet stores or online

Dogs impounded more than once after being found at-large or off-leash

Dogs declared potentially dangerous or dangerous

Dogs owned by felons

   4. Ban tethering or chaining and excessive caging or crating of dogs (also a popular technique by dog fighters to make the dogs more aggressive; the Centers for Disease Control has found tethered or chained dogs are 2.8 times more likely to bite)

Lawrence County, Kansas, adopted an anti-tethering ordinance. From 2005 to 2006, the number of calls concerning cruelty and dog fighting dropped from 800 to 260. Officials attribute the decline in large part to the anti-tethering law.  

The USDA and even the AVMA has said tethering dogs is inhumane.

    5. Pass and enforce strong at large or leash laws or enforce such laws and encourage micro chipping

82% of dog bites occur as a result of dogs that are running loose (JAVMA, September 15, 2000)

After passing a leash law, the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, reported a 35% drop in dog bites.

    6. Address through strong laws and education the problem of animal cruelty

Well over half (61%) of fatal dog attacks are by dogs who were not humanely controlled, or who had in some way been abused or neglected (Delise, Fatal Dog Attacks: The Stories Behind the Statistics))

   7. Offer free or low cost training and education about the importance of socializing dogs early and making them part of the family.

81% of dogs involved in fatal dog attacks were isolated and not part of the family (Delise, Fatal Dog Attacks: The Stories Behind the Statistics))

   8. Pass and enforce strong dog fighting laws that make all aspects of dog fighting illegal and include bonding and forfeiture provisions; organize a dog fighting task force

   9. Require dog breeders to register or obtain licenses, limit breeding by age and numbers, ban breeding for aggression and fighting, ban the sale of dogs in pet stores and along roadsides, street corners or sidewalks; require inspections of breeders' facilities and track sales of dogs by breeders.

  10. Stop the cultural glorification of violence especially involving pit bull type dogs.