Credit: Pixabay

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: ‘Ban the deed, not the breed’ approach isn’t good enough

Jul 9, 2020 | 4:53 AM

KAMLOOPS — I WASN’T GOING TO jump into the pitbull debate because, well, I’ve written about these dogs for quite a few years now and attacks keep happening.

Many communities severely restrict pit bulls, some ban them outright. According to the website Ban Pit Bulls, there are more than 25 such communities in B.C.

Across the country, the number exceeds 200. There’s a reason so many places have serious concerns about pit bulls — just check out the stats.

Another Canadian website, National Pit Bull Victim Awareness, chronicles pitbull attacks and there are many. Adults, children, other dogs — no one is immune. Sometimes, they’re lucky; in other cases, people and dogs are severely mauled, disfigured or killed.

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Which brings us to the death of a man in Kamloops from a pitbull attack. Police haven’t revealed much about this incident but we do know a man is dead.

And, another case has come to light in which a local couple’s border collie was recently attacked by a pit bull and badly injured. Google “pitbull attack” and you’ll find no shortage of recent incidents elsewhere.

But our local lawmakers continue to espouse the “ban the deed, not the breed” approach of groups like HugABull and Loveabull.

Whenever an attack happens, the excuses pour out. You know what I’m talking about — you can’t prove it was a pit bull without DNA, pit bulls are not a breed, the dog never did anything like that before, it’s the owners not the dog. And on it goes.

Undoubtedly, there are good owners and good pit bulls but the trouble with the “ban the deed, not the breed” rationale — including “aggressive” or “dangerous” dogs as defined under the Kamloops bylaw — is that once the deed is done it’s too late, with often tragic consequences.

Sorry, but someone has to say it, the only way to stop pit bull attacks is to ban the breed.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.