Banning pit bulls is a knee-jerk response to a larger problem

Junior, a pit bull mix was found in malnourished condition at a foreclosed home in Jackson and was nursed back to health at Jackson County Animal Shelter in 2014. "Pit bull" is a catch-all term used to describe the latest in a series of dog types regarded as "problem animals," the writer argues. (Mlive.com files)

Laura A. Reese is a dog shelter volunteer and professor of political science at Michigan State University whose research includes the plight of homeless animals and how municipalities and nonprofits can most effectively provide animal welfare services.


Laura A. Reese 

By Laura A. Reese

When faced with complex social problems, we tend to go for the easy solution. Terrorism? Prohibit Muslims from entering the country. Undocumented immigrants? Build a big wall and deport everyone who might be Mexican. Mixed-breed dogs kill a child? Prohibit the ownership of pit bulls.

But even these seemingly easy solutions are complex in implementation.

Breed-specific legislation — in this case a ban on pit bulls — is just the latest example of a simplistic solution to a complex problem. After a 4-year-old boy was killed Dec. 2 by a four "pit bulls" in Detroit, many have called for such a ban in the city, and City Council President Brenda Jones said the council "will take a fresh look into existing laws to determine what may be needed to provide a safer environment and protection from vicious animals."

Chained in backyards, starved, forced to fight, overbred due to greed, blamed for their own abuse and the last dog waiting to be adopted at the shelter, the pit bull is the ultimate contemporary "problem animal." In every decade, one breed of dog becomes the representative of canine evil. In the 1960s it was the German shepherd; in the 1970s, the Doberman pinscher. Yet most of the breeds that carried the stigma of viciousness are now again members of the "respectable" dog community.

A reality check is in order when communities are tempted to turn to a breed ban, particularly as it relates to pit bulls:

• "Pit bull" is not a breed, but simply a term used to describe a variety of mixed-breeds with similar characteristics. DNA tests of pit bull-looking dogs often come up with unexpected results; one dog that looked like a pit bull turned out to be 40 percent poodle.

• According to the American Temperament Test Society, 86 percent of American pit bull terriers tested had a good temperament. That's better than 121 other breeds, including golden retrievers and beagles.

• In a recent dog-bite study covering 40 years and multiple countries, the American Veterinary Medical Association, concluded that pit bulls — or any other group of dogs — should not be considered disproportionately dangerous.

• Breed bans are impractical and ineffective. Even if particular breeds could be identified as high risk, "absurdly large numbers of dogs of targeted breeds" would have to be removed from a community in order to prevent even one serious dog bite-related injury.

• Breed bans are expensive due to the costs of enforcement, kenneling, euthanasia and litigation.

At root, the issue of vicious dogs is far more complex than a particular breed. The myriad causes of dog bites include heredity, socialization and training, dog health and victim behavior. Research on dog behavior has repeatedly found that lack of socialization, particularly when dogs are left alone in fenced yards or chained behind homes, can cause aggressive behavior.

Ultimately, the solution to vicious dogs is going to require effort on a variety of fronts: improving animal welfare services in the city, modifications in ordinances about chaining, education about proper animal care, crackdowns on dog fighting and animal abuse, and enforcement of ordinances already in place. It will take increased resources and a joint effort on the part of the city, nonprofits, schools and community groups.

Banning all dogs that are judged (or guessed) to have particular physical traits is not a simple, effective, implementable or humane solution to the real problem of animal welfare and human safety in Detroit. Knee-jerk reactions rarely are.

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