With the clock running out on the legislative session the representatives will soon decide several important issues. No issue is more controversial, nor more contentious, than Senate Bill 0239, the bill which prohibits Michigan municipalities from enacting public safety measures that restrict pit bulls.
Michigan witnessed back-to-back fatal pit bull attacks on December 2nd and December 3rd, 2015. In the days following the attacks Michigan newspapers and editorial writers found their voice and published a series of opinions about the pending attempt to preempt local public safety laws. The advocates of fighting breeds will continue to press their cause but there is no doubt about where the majority stands on this issue.
In the holiday rush Michigan's legislators may have lost track of the editorials. We have collected them here to remind the legislators of the resounding call for common sense public safety legislation.
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Opinion Pieces:
Pit bull crisis growing; victims need help
by Joan Kowal
December 20, 2015; Lansing State Journal
Laws to protect pit bulls would prevent attacks
By Teresa Chagrin, PETA
December 15, 2015; Port Huron Times Herald
Time for Detroit to ban pit bulls
By Jack Lessenberry
December 15, 2015; Windsor Star
Pit bull attacks are not a racial issue
by Joan Kowal
December 13, 2015; Port Huron Times Herald
Pit bull-type dogs have no place in civil society
by Lori Welbourne
December 11, 2015; Detroit News
Pit bulls were never meant to be household pets
by Lori Welbourne
December 8, 2015; Port Huron Times Herald
Detroit should adopt pit bull ban it didn't 9 years ago
By Rochelle Riley
December 5, 2015; Detroit Free Press
Let local laws determine how to reduce dog attacks, restrict breeds
by Mia Johnson and Joan Kowal
December 4, 2014; MLive
Recent News :
Woman was pulled to her death by pit bullFebruary 4, 2016; Detroit Free Press
Police shoot pit bull near Lansing school
School was on brief lockdown
January 26, 2016; Lansing State Journal
Owner of dog in Washington Township attack identified
January 22, 2016; WDIV Detroit
Pet pit bull euthanized after attacking Clinton Township man
January 12, 2016; Adviser and Source
‘Pit bull-type’ dog bites Macomb Co. man, owner flees
January 8, 2016; Detroit News
Detroit City Council urges more animal control resources
January 6, 2016; 9&10 News
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Statistics:
Statistics quoted on SRUV are from the nation's authoritative source for current dog attack statistics, the 32+ year, continuously updated Dog attack deaths and maimings, U.S. & Canada.View or download the current PDF
Record 33 fatal pit bull attacks & 459 disfigurements in 2015
Pit bulls killed 24,000 other dogs & 13,000 cats in 2015
2015 Dog Bite Related Fatalities (Daxton's Friends)
Fatal Pit Bull Attacks
Today's pit bull attacks
Definitions:
SRUV uses the definition of "pit bull" as found in the Omaha Municipal Code Section 6-163. As pit bulls are increasingly crossed with exotic mastiffs, Catahoula Leopard Dogs and other breeds, the vernacular definition of "pit bull" must be made even more inclusive.
Sources cited by news media sometimes refer to "Animal Advocates" or sometimes "Experts." In many cases these words are used to refer to single-purpose pit bull advocates who have never advocated for any other breeds or species of animals. Media would be more accurate to refer to these pit bull advocates as advocates of fighting breeds.
Similarly, in many cases pit bull advocates refer to themselves as "dog lovers" or "canine advocates" and media often accepts this usage. The majority of these pit bull advocates are single-purpose advocates of fighting breeds.
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