Dear Georgina,
Make your voice heard and #EndBSL
In 1991, Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) prohibited four different types of dog: pit bull terrier, Japanese Tosa, Fila Braziliero and Dogo Argentino. Its aim was to decrease their population and improve human safety. But fast forward 25 years later: large numbers of dogs continue to be seized and hospital admissions rise year on year. In fact, in the past 10 years, admissions for dog bites and strikes have increased by 76% (HSCIC, 2015). Since 1991, 36 people have died in dog-related incidents; 27 involved dogs not prohibited by law (RSPCA, 2016). BSL is clearly ineffective at protecting public safety and as a result has been hugely criticised on both a national and international level.
Part of the criticism relates to the identification of prohibited types of dogs, which is predominantly appearance based rather than taking into account behaviour or genetics, meaning that many dogs experience compromised welfare unnecessarily. Suspect dogs are seized and kennelled; both procedures which are potentially very stressful. Although some prohibited types can be lawfully kept, there are strict conditions which must be adhered to, some of which can restrict natural behaviour, e.g. on lead walking when in a public place. However, thousands of dogs have been needlessly euthanased simply because of their conformation. Euthanasing healthy dogs with sound temperaments on the basis of looks alone has huge moral implications and undoubtedly a significant impact on those who owned or cared for these dogs and the veterinary professionals who have to undertake the euthanasia.
To mark the 25th anniversary of this law, and highlight its ineffectiveness in protecting public safety and dog welfare, the RSPCA launched a campaign in 2016 calling for the Government to hold a public inquiry into BSL. As well as this, we invited organisations from around the world to support our call to repeal BSL and replace it with evidence-based policy. We are delighted that the British Veterinary Nursing Association (BVNA) is backing this call. Our intention is to present the list of organisations and the petition to the Government this spring. At the time of writing, we have over 52 000 signatures calling for the inquiry and we are hoping that veterinary nurses will follow also make their voice heard by signing our petition here www.rspca.org.uk/EndBSL.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Samantha Gaines, Head of the Companion Animals Department, RSPCA, Wilber-force Way, Southwater, Horsham, West Sussex. RH139RS. email sam.gaines@rspca.org.uk.
In response,
Dear Samantha,
Thank you for your letter. We would certainly urge all veterinary nurses to sign your petition. An evidence-based policy is clearly the way forward.
Yours sincerely,
Georgina Grell, Editor, The Veterinary Nurse