Ending Breed Restrictions
Advocacy Library
Facts to Back Up Your Advocacy
Research, statements, whitepapers, and multimedia based in science and logic showing that animal ordinances and policies should be behavior based and breed-neutral.
Animal Ordinances
Breeds and Behavior
Visual Breed Identification
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Animal Ordinances
How to talk about what works and argue against what doesn’t
The Responsible Pet Ownership Model
A case study of Calgary’s animal ordinances
“The Responsible Pet Ownership Model is focused first on supporting and incentivizing responsible behavior in pet owners and second, discouraging problematic behavior.”
Out of the Past: Updating Your Animal Control Ordinances
Cory A. Smith wrote this step by step guide on breed-neutral animal ordinances for Animal Sheltering Magazine in 2012. Years later, it’s proactive approach and focus on responsible pet ownership and accessible resources keep it relevant for anyone wanting to create a safe community for people and pets.
Read the article (pdf)
Additional Guidelines
Collection of effective animal ordinances from National Canine Research Council
A Community Approach to Dog Bite Prevention (pdf) from the American Veterinary Medical Association
Down to a Science
“BSL suffers from the fundamental, flawed presumption that breed reliably predicts vicious propensity. It draws from
– Adam Karp
Download and read Karp’s paper
Case Study: the Financial Cost of BSL
Breed-specific legislation is costly. Millions of taxpayer dollars are wasted on enforcing ineffective laws. Prince George’s County’s BSL has been in place since 1996. In 2001, it cost the county $560,000.
Read the case study (pdf)
Statements from organizations about BSL
Read statements from organizations and businesses on how breed-specific legislation is anti-science, damages the relationship between dogs and people, and doesn’t prove to keep communities safe.
You can share these statements with law and policymakers to show them how many reputable organizations do not endorse BSL.
Listen to an episode of our podcast
Further Reading
Established Epidemiological Measure Shows Why Breed Bans Fail to Reduce Dog Bite Injury (pdf) from the National Canine Research Council
Ineffective Canine Policies from the National Canine Research Council
We Can’t Fix Human Problems by Fixing Dogs
Outdated Thinking Is Going to Hurt Dogs in South Carolina
Here’s What We Learned in South Carolina (podcast)
Breeds and Behavior
Peer-reviewed research on why looks don’t equal behavior and dog bite hysteria is unfounded
Nicholas Criscuolo v. Grant County
“Regardless of whether someone inaccurately believes that a specific breed has a certain behavior or “dangerousness,” a dog with moderate or minor/trace amounts of that breed has the majority of its genome derived from breeds other than the breed in question. It is not rational or scientifically valid to assume that a dog can be defined as dangerous by virtue of having “any element” of a particular breed.”
– Dr. Kristopher Irizarry
Download and read the full report
All Dogs Are Individuals Infographic
View the full infographic and see citations
Further Reading
What Kind of a Dog Is That? from the National Canine Research Council
Interview with veterinary geneticist Jessica Hekman
Does Breed Really Matter When Choosing a Pet Dog? (podcast)
The Dog and Its Genome by Elaine Ostrander
Genetics and the Social Behavior of the Dog by Scott and Fuller
The Relevance of Breed in Selecting a Companion Dog by Janis Bradley
Dog Bite and Risk Prevention: The Role of Breed
This literature review from the American Veterinary Medical Association Animal Welfare Division examines scientific research and other data to asses whether breed-targeted laws and policies would be effective.
The peer-reviewed summary concludes that, “breed is a poor sole predictor of aggressiveness.”
Read the literature review on the AMVA website
Dog Bite Fatalities Are Extremely Rare
There were only 38 dog bite related fatalities in the U.S. in 2018
From the National Canine Research Council Sources and more information (pdf)
Further Reading
Potentially Preventable Husbandry Factors Co-Occur in Most Dog Bite Related Fatalities (pdf) from the National Canine Research Council
Summary and Analysis of Defaming Rover from the National Canine Research Council
Summary and Analysis: Dog Bites: Still a Problem? from National Canine Research Council
Visual Breed Identification
Why it’s unreliable, subjective, and doesn’t work
How Long Before We Discard Visual Breed Identification?
“The discrepancy between breed identifications based on opinion and DNA analysis, as well as concerns about the reliability of data collected based on media reports, draws into question the validity and enforcement of public and private policies pertaining to dog breeds.”
– Dr. Victoria Voith
Download the white paper from the National Canine Research Council
Breed Specific or Looks Specific?
“The genetic program that results in a large thick skull, like that of a Labrador Retriever, is not the same genetic program that builds the brain.”
– Dr. Kristopher Irizarry
Download and read the white paper
Studies on the unreliability of visual breed i.d.
Inconsistent Identification of Pit Bull-Type Dogs by Shelter Staff
Canine Identity Crisis: Genetic breed heritage testing of shelter dogs
Excluding My Dog Is Excluding Me
Help us end exclusionary breed restrictions in housing insurance.
News and Articles
Dogs are not humans: why “dangerous dog” registries are a flawed idea
Dangerous dog registries fail to put the responsibility on the dog owner and instead deflect blame to the dog.
The Truth about Landlord Liability and Dog Bite Related Incidents
Landlords cite liability risks as justification for these policies. We did a deep dive to find out what the dog bite related liability risks really are.