EP-44 Who will they come for next?

Story

1. Who will they come for next?

Title: Thousands of banned dogs live at home with owners

Source: BBC https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-67217993 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-66775985

Date: 10/27/2023

Summary: 3,500 banned dogs live legally with their owner in the UK, and the government intends to ban more dogs based on their breed. 

Situation:

1.  The UK government recently banned Electronic training collars and is planning on banning pronged training collars.
2. The UK also banned “Pitbull terriers, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, and the Fila Brasileiro under the “Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.”
3. Later this year, The UK plans to ban the American Bully XL
4. The American Bully was first bred in the 80’s and is a cross between American Pitbull Terriers and American Staffordshire Terriers.
5. There are four variations: Standard, pocket, classic, and XL 

Problem

1. Even though these dogs are banned, people still get them and have them. 
   1. Anita Mehdi owns a 7-year-old Pitbull terrier. 
   2. Four years ago, the police seized her dog, Lola, because someone reported her to the police.
   3. Lola was measured and assessed. She was classified as a “pit-bull-type” because she is an English Staffordshire Bull terrier, American bulldog cross.
   4. Lola also underwent a “behavioral Assessment.” for the local government official tasked with this job. 
   5. Anita says she did not know she was unaware that Lola was a “pit bull” when she got her. 
   6. Anita had to go to court to find out if she could get an exemption. 
2. The law says no pit bulls, but if you are rich enough to go to court and do the other things the government requires, you might be able to get one. 
   1. Exemption schemes allow banned dogs to stay with their owners if a court is satisfied that they do not pose a danger to the public and that strict restrictions will be followed. Lola was returned to Anita with a list of restrictions.
   2. To own one of these dogs, you must own a house, get a 6-foot fence, Spay or neuter, and microchip the dog. 
   3. Anita must prove to the government she has third-party insurance and must show a certificate of exemption to a police station within five days if she is asked to do so by police or dog warden. 
   4. If Anita fails to comply with these rules could cause the police to seize Lola again. 
3. BBC News submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the government department that monitors the active list of exempted dogs.
4. Of the data, which showed that 3,499 banned dogs are registered in England, Scotland, and Wales, almost all are pit bull terriers, with 3,316 in England and 149 in Wales. Ten years ago, the BBC reported that there were 2,323 in England and Wales.
5. a dog that may have characteristics of another breed but still has enough pit bull characteristics to be considered a banned dog.
6. Dog Legislation Officer PC Paul Jameson said the assessment was based on physical composition and observation.
7. "We measure around 70 things altogether, looking at every aspect of the dog," he explains.
8. "We're looking for a triangular head when viewed from the front. The eyes are almond-shaped, not quite deep-set compared to other breeds. We're looking for a long, heavily muscled neck… If it has a significant number of characteristics, it will be classified as a pit bull type."
9. The government says it will ban another type of dog, the American bully XL, before the end of the year. However, it has not yet defined the breed characteristics for this animal.
10. PC Jameson says that assessing XL bullies will pose a challenge.
11. "We don't have accurate numbers of how many of these dogs are really out there. I would say the