Stop This Bill! Attention Pit Bull Lovers!
There is a bill to eliminate Pit Bulls in Montana, the entire state. This is a ludicrous bill that goes after innocent animals at the whim of a politician, it must be stopped.
Montana state Rep. Robyn Driscoll, a Democrat who represents the 51st District, has introduced a bizarre bill calling for the elimination of all “pit bulls” from the state. If the bill, H.B. 191, becomes law, owners must surrender their pit bull dogs which must then be euthanized within 10 days.
Those who don’t give up their dogs to be killed? Well, any peace officer is authorized to obtain a search warrant and come and get the dog.
The cost of paying animal control and other law enforcement officers throughout the state to round up family pets and kill them will be substantial. A task force found that a pit bull ban in Prince George’s County, Maryland, just one county, cost $560,000 in one year.
There are exceptions for pit bulls temporarily in the state, passing through, or attending a exhibition, show or competition “sponsored by a dog club, association, or similar organization”. Even for the dog to attend an exhibition, show or competition, the owner must obtain written permission from the county and the sponsor must take steps to “prevent [the pit bull dog] from escaping or injuring the public.” The only other exception is for a pit bull wearing a tag indicating it is a registered pit bull, but the registration and tag must have been obtained before the law’s effective date. Here is a copy of the bill.
The National Canine Research Council reports that between 1965 and 2008, there were 3 fatalities in Montana from dog bites. Yes, 3 in 43 years. In 2005 alone, just one year in Montana, 1,400 people died from smoking and 251 in traffic accidents. (Maybe Driscoll should work to protect Montanans from smoking and second hand cigarette smoke or negligent or drunk drivers; that would at least be something useful.)
The NCRC notes, “All the dogs involved … were …not spayed or neutered….All three cases involved unsupervised children left alone in a yard with unfamiliar dogs (2 cases) or the child wandering off and encountering an unfamiliar, chained dog (1 case).”
The bill, H.B. 191, is now in the House Local Government Committee. Check Animal Law Coalition for updates.
Take Animal Law Coalition’s poll on breed bans on this page!
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Write or call Rep. Robyn Driscoll and urge her to drop this breed ban. Tell her dogs don’t bite because of breed and breed bans don’t make communities safe from dog bites. Instead, they penalize responsible owners and greatly increase animal control costs. Send her the information found here. Be polite.
Robyn Driscoll, (406) 534-4874, rdriscoll@peoplepc.com
Contact the House Local Government Committee by calling Joe Kolman, 406-444-9280
Find Montana legislators and email, fax or call them and urge them to say no to H.B. 191. Here is the fax number for the House: 406-444-4825
This is outrageous and unacceptable to me. A good friend of mine was attacked by a German Shepherd over Labor Day weekend, a totally unprovoked attack. She was walking on a beach with her Jack Russell when the German Shepherd, who was on a balcony of a house, spotted them. It somehow got out of the house and went after her, severely attacking them both.
To go after a dog who has bitten is one thing, to go after an entire breed on the premise they will someday bite is insane. Why aren’t the laws stricter against the people that run the dogfighting rings? Not people who are alleged to run them, but those where there is hard evidence. The people that turn these dogs into fighters, who make them vicious, they are the ones that need to be eliminated.
One of the scariest sentences in the bill is…..(e) any dog that has been registered at any time as a pit bull terrier or has the physical characteristics that substantially conform to the standards established for the breeds listed in this subsection (2) by the American kennel club or the united kennel club.
The physical characteristics that substantially conform to the standards established for the breed? What’s next? What if someone has a mix, when do you determine how much is too much PB? Where does it stop?
This is outrageous, please get those paws busy and call, fax, or email the appropriate parties above to get this bill dropped.
* The beauty above is courtesy The Animal Law Coalition site.
WOW, it may seem like an unlikely progression, but what “breeds” of human will these nut jobs decide are too dangerous after they finish euthanizing innocent animals. Maybe they’ll move on to the elderly and disabled as “burdens to society” that need to be euthanized. Seems a lot like early 1930’s Germany, in their twisted logic at least.
Wow, that practically made my heart stop when I read it, once they eliminate the pit they will go after other dog breeds like GSD’s Dobe’s Rottie’s AmStaff’s etc.
Then will come the other dogs for some reason or the other.
That is truly scary, If Texas EVER passes this law, I’m leaving the country!
I emailed this person and stated some facts I hope that she gets it and doesn’t pass this law. Baning pitbulls and bull dogs is what the bill states. This is just a stepping stone to ban all dogs. A life without dogs is not a good life!
Has the Montana gov. fallen prey to the breed nazis? That woman must be a joke, a very cruel racist joke. What will she eyeball after the pitbulls are gone? Poodles? Parakeets? People of Montana, you have to stop her!
Dogs aren’t dangerous. People like Robyn Driscoll are dangerous. With their closed little minds and their “kill what we don’t understand” attitudes, they poke their noses into our laws and stir up trouble. They are the ones who killed off the wolves that we are so desperately trying to bring back. If they don’t like it, they destroy it.
Let’s pray that there are some people with IQs serving in the Montana State House! And a Governor who knows something about dogs to step in if he/she has to veto it!
This just boggles my mind. I’m so disgusted, I think I could actually slap this woman. And I haven’t laid hands on anyone, (except my kids’ behinds), since grade school. I could just SPIT!!!
Just “Surrender” my dog to them??? Are they insane??
I’ve seen it happen in cities in my area, and hundreds of pit type dogs are PTS. There are other states wanting a ban, Ohio is one, in fact Ohio passed BSL. I have been saying it since I first started the fight against BSL, cities will follow other cities and states will follow other states.
http://www.change.org is a site where they are asking the new administration to ban BSL in America. Please check the site out and sign up and vote. They have a request that Congress pass a bill making BSL illegal in the states. We need to be pro active in stopping these ignorant laws. All levels of government have other things that need more attention then to ban breeds of dogs, better medical care for citizens, feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless. Tell them how you feel by writing to them and educating them.
BSL needs to be halted or they will annihilate an entire species. WE ARE THE PEOPLE, AND WE ARE THE GOVERMENT! Tell them that we vote them in and we can and will vote them out, they are PUBLIC servants elected to serve the people. Let them get back to serving the people and stop creating ignorant laws that waste money. With creating irrelevant legislation.
This just makes my blood boil.
A closed mind does not allow for an open heart.
Stop this bill DOG Lovers
I just emailed this “idiot” in my state government. This is the most rediculous thing I ever heard of!!!!
I want to email this article to all my Montana friends, but I guess I will have to copy and then paste the article into an email message. I look at your site everyday from My Yahoo home page. If you can, would you please add the ability to email your articles. It might not get used very often, but I bet it would get used!!! Thanks
I agree with you people, once they get rid of Pits, then it will be dogs in general then it will be our kids!
My heart stopped when I read it and I nearly lost sleep over it!
States follow other states, if Montana does this, other states will follow ending in a nationwide BAN of the Pit Bull!
Addendum to my prior message. I was so boiling mad, I emailed everyone in my email address book that lives in Montana, our local tv channel, and our two local newspapers!!!!! I am ashamed of this so called representative of our populace, whom my husband said was lacking a lot of marbles in her brain!!!!! Sure hope I did some good!!!! Thanks Dogster!!
Unfortunately this is a topic that all states are dealing with. Most dogs (no matter what breed) can be considered dangerous. (I myself was attacked by a little dog and it bit me in the leg, it didnt hurt any less). But I didnt consider her dangerous.
I have had several pets that have passed on due to old age and I remember the sorrow I felt, but still remember the wonderful joy that they brought me. I can not imagine how I would feel if someone told me that my dogs were going to be taken away, I would be heart broken if they were taken away and put down. I have 5 Pitbulls ranging in age from 15 years to 8 months. They are each loving and a big part of our family. They sleep with us, and love us unconditionally. In these economical had times….I feel safe and secure in my own home and when I am out, I know that my home is also safe from unwanted visitors.
There is no one that should have to be put through telling their children that they have to give up their loving pets….Their Family Member. “My Family” is just that, Me, My Husband, My two Boys and Our 5 Dogs and 2 cats. All of our names go on our Christmas Cards….Because they are FAMILY. MONTANA…..PLEASE DONT MAKE YOUR CITIZENS KILL A MEMBER OF THEIR FAMILY!!!!
Thanks for posting this. I sent an email.
As a trainer, both in Montana and nationally, I find this to be an unconscionable bill. It is NOT the breed, in this case pit bulls, but the individual dog’s behavior that can be traced back through many poor decisions made by humans involved with THE (note the singular, though it may be two dogs involved) dog. Every thing from poor genetics by unethical, uncaring breeders, to bad owners, to trainers incapable of training anything but the “softest” of dogs may have come into play in the SPECIFIC issue that sparked this bill.
A child was killed two years ago by Rotties, in his uncle’s yard, and no ban was called for. Nor are Rotties included in this bill, therefore it seems a somewhat arbitrary bill.
What is of utmost concern to me at the moment is the fact that HSUS Regional seems to be in support of this bill. How can the Humane Society say they are advocates of animals when this bill is entirely about killing dogs (the breed as a whole) that have displayed NO AGGRESSION? What are they advocating?
I do not believe this ban will go unopposed here in Montana. Susan Overfield http://www.overfieldkennel.com
We live in a fear driven society… Everybody get scared!!! This really seems like a case of the misinformed. Hopefully, this bill will go nowhere.
If this passes there is only one answer to it. I will count on Montanans to defend their property and families (including dogs!) with force from illegal police searches and seizures.
I know what I’d do if someone tried to take our terrier. Let’s just say the dog wouldn’t be the one to get euthanized.
This just made me so angry. I had to write to her.
Montana state Rep. Robyn Driscoll,
I read your bill about wishing to ban pit bulls from your state. Well I have to say that I have friends that live in Montana. They tell me about crime there. I have to ask myself…….do you have nothing better to do with tax payers money? What gives you the right to play god? What gives you the right to decide which dogs we as FREE AMERICANS can have as our companions. Do you have sporting good stores in Montana that sell guns? I bet more crimes are committed with a gun, then committed with a pit bull! Or should I say a bull dog. You have much bigger fights to fight than this. I suggest you take up a hobby, it appears to me that you have way to much time on your hands.
Sincerely
De de Barron &
Miss Beaslely
ASPCA MEMEBERS
Proudly living in Texas where people like you aren’t!
This is the email I sent to Robyn Driscoll regarding the ban of pitbulls in Montana. Feel free to share it with the rest of the dogster world, you can
even copy it and send it with your own name if they like. I thought I would share it in case people are having a hard time coming up with something to say. Below is the email.
Mrs. Driscoll:
Dogs do not bite because of the breed they are, bans on breeds are not going to
make communities safer. Instead they penalize responsible owners instead of
penalizing the people who are abusing and neglecting these animals.
There needs to be tougher laws on people who fight, abuse and neglect dogs. If
there were strictor laws and people were held accountable for their actions
rather then just getting a slap on the wrist, we would not have so many vicious
animals in our community.
Just because a dog has been abused does not mean it can not be rehabilitated
and placed in home to live out the rest of their lives. I believe you should
look at the people that are causing these kind of reactions from animals rather
then single out a breed that is getting a bad reputation because of what society
has choose to do with that breed.
Thank you,
Stacey PXXXXX
Thanks for posting this Horst & Lisa.. I Wil be passing this along so it can be stopped in its tracks. This Makes me so very angry,sad and sick.
(
I just got a Pitbull a couple months ago. Well my insurance (homeowners) found out and now they want to cancel me unless I get rid of him. I live in Virginia and I just dont think that it is fair for them to be able to do this. Is it???/ If so does anyone know of an insurance company that will take me because of my dog???
She must be a CAT person! this kind of legislation remindes me of how white people treated the Savages other wise known as American-Indians. You know , destroy everything you dont know anything about. Then decide that, after you have eradicated the breed that maybe it was a mistake. I am very happy that I do not live in Montana. I think that had dog lovers known that this republican thinks this way that she would have never been elected to an office that has any power what-so-ever.
How can such decisions be made? I know a American Pit Bull Terrier who has tied to a car and dragged to death – what about such people? Will there a ban on humans also? How can one person decide if a breed of dogs should exist or not? Just because in 43 years, this breed of dogs bit 3 people to death? What are they doing about criminals – thieves, terrorists, murderers?
The Montana Legislature will vote this Thursday to ban / kill all Montana Pitbulls! Please follow the link below to sign a petition and stop bsl in Montana.
Please don’t let them kill my friends!
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/MontanansAgainstBSL/index.html
An UPDATE!!!! THIS BILL DIED IN COMMITTEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 100 PIT LOVERS SHOWED UPTO BE HEARD! “The Bill was ‘Tabled’.” as the reporter put it and she said that effectively means it’s DEAD.
sorry.. I read it in the Billings Gazette; written by Jennifer McKee, Gazette State Bureau
headline: Pit Bull Owners Decry Proposed Ban, Which Dies In Committee
THIS IS SO STUPID! HOW CAN PEOPLE DO THAT? SOMEONE TRY TO DO SOMETHING W/ MY DOGS AND THEY WILL SEE! AND THEN THE SAME STATES THAT WANT TO BAN PIT BULLS ARE AGAINST DEATH PENALTY! WHAT A FUNNY WORLD! WHAT ABOUT BAN ALL THE SEX OFFENDER, SERIAL KILLERS AND CRIMINALS OUT THERE? WOULDNT THAT BE A MUCH SAFIER THING FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND MUCH BETTER MONEY SPENT? COME ON NOW! THANK GOD IT IS NOW DEAD! LETS JUST HOPE THEY WONT TRY IN ANY OTHER STATE!
Simply because there are immature, dog owners out there that don’t understand the certain levels of owning a dog, especially one as strong as a pit bull doesn’t mean there should be something as extreme as a bill passed to EXTERMINATE the pit bull breed. For those of us who own one, and treat them right, love them with all their hearts, take care of them and CHOOSE to own one. Shouldn’t be told to kill our pets, whom we love and cherish, just like everyone else who owns an animal no matter the size, breed, or even if its a rabbit, a bird, a lizard they are all capable of hurting someone and/or something. But we’re not going to pass a Bill to EXTERMINATE cats because they ‘kill’ mice. This is absurd to even consider. I would also like to know how people were allowed to start shelters, a place for a PIT BULL to go if he needed help. For pit bulls who were abused and used as fighters, we were given the permission to house them and help them, and now we’re to a completely new place, where we just want to kill them all off. Whoever made this bill should be euthanized. Then they will no longer be a danger to my pit bull.