From Best Friends Animal Society:
Montana House Bill 191 was introduced on Jan. 7 by Rep. Robyn Driscoll.
This inhumane bill would outlaw "pit bull terriers." It defines "pit bulls" as Staffordshire bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, American pit bull terriers, American bulldogs, and any dog that has the physical characteristics that substantially conform to the standards established for those breeds by the American Kennel Club or the United Kennel Club.
In essence, any muscular short-haired mixed breed dog could be removed from their guardians and killed. The guardian would have the expense of proving that their dog was not a "pit bull."
The bill would grandfather in existing dogs whose guardians register them as "pit bulls," but would destroy any "pit bull" that is not registered.
you know this is a crock of crap, that would be like me saying if a bum dont have a job lets kill them how much since dose that make
Sadly, David, your spelling and grammar really reflect the level of intelligent discourse on this subject. Any bans are nothing new, and given that we live in a democracy it's prefectly reasonable for people to be able to vote on laws they believe will protect their community.
Do a little research and you will see that Pit Bull Terriers and Dobermans make up nearly 75 percent of all fatal dog attacks in the country. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that these breeds are suitable pets.
But there are hundreds if not thousands of owners who will tell you how loving and loyal these pets are. Just like there are thousands of people who believe they can take other wild animals -- from wolfs and mountain lions to chimps -- and teach them to be domesticated. They are fooling themselves. I'm sure many Pit Bulls live out their lives without maming or killing anyone, but since there is no way to know which ones will and which ones will not a ban is a logical alternative.
If I thought that the owners were the only ones at risk I wouldn't worry. But in more than half of all Pit Bull attacks the victim is not a member of owner's family, but a local child.
People who oppose bans on breeds like to call themselves 'humane' because they love dogs. What they fail to acknowledge is that, due to the temprement of this breed, a significant portion of Pit Bulls are kept locked in cages, restricted to tiny pens or chained to a post for most of their adult life. Is that what you consider 'humane?'
And let's not forget that word comes from the word 'human,' which is who they should be concerned for first, not the animals. If there is even a tiny chance that a child or adult will be viciously attacked the risk is too great.
THe bans that are being put on the plates of Reps. in Montana aren't right. And michae1 the fact the doberman's and pitts are the breeds mentioned in bills like this isn't just beacuse of the percent of the attacks caused by them. These breeds aren't violent, some can be but not all. It's the same with any breed, it depends on how they are raised. If you treat the dog like crap then they will be violent and attack. All animals are that way as a matter of fact. I have raised several different breeds of dogs and I have also taken in abused dogs the abused ones show niolent behavior but it is worse than behavior of the ones that weren't abused. YOu may not think that all animals have that tendancy but I lived on a farm, and chickens and roosters are the same way!
I just want to say that today 5/18 at 1:30 pm on my wife’s way to work, at the entrance to the fire station on N. Sherman, she found a black and white Chihuahua mix that had been hit and killed in the middle of the road. She moved the dog so other speeding drivers wouldn’t run over him. She carried him door to door til she found a neighbor that pointed out the owner’s house. The driver had hit the dog in the head with the car and kept right on going.