When I first heard the rumor that PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) was joining the fight against pitbulls I was infuriated. How could they aide with those wishing to outlaw the biggest snuggle babies in the world? They used to be nicknamed "Nanny dogs" for crying out loud. Was PETA not the ones who were supposed to fight for animals' rights?
I knew there had to be some sort of mistake. In an effort to seek clarity regarding PETA'S stance on pitbulls I researched their website where I found the following statement:
"Some pit bull fanciers out there seem to think that PETA is "against" pit bulls because we don't oppose breed-specific measures to address what is obviously a breed-specific crisis. Au contraire. If someone proposed a ban on breeding Labrador retrievers or Chihuahuas or poodles (you get the picture – any dog), we'd be for those too. That's because we don't think any dogs should be brought into the world as long as millions are dying for lack of homes in animal shelters and on the streets every year."
PETA goes on to indicate that pitbulls are only singled out because they are involved in "so many attacks on humans and other dogs" which any pitbull owner will tell you is a lie. According to the American Temperament Testing Society's (ATTS) 2017 report, pitbulls have an 86.4% pass rate which is significantly greater than other breeds such as golden retrievers, Labrador retrievers, cocker spaniels, Shih Tzus, and even Yorkshire terriers. These kinds of slanderous statements by PETA make me question their reliability entirely. If they could miss such a vital piece of research regarding pitbulls, who knows what else is being forgotten. While it is evident by the 3.3 million dogs currently living in shelters across the United States that we should all be participating in the #AdoptDontShop movement, banning the breeding of dogs of any kind would not be a plausible solution. Much like a band-aid, legislation that banned breeding of dogs would encourage more shelters dogs to be adopted rather than euthanized but would have some serious potential risks. One such risk would be the endangerment of breeds going extinct. Typically, shelter dogs are mixed breeds which if they were left to be the only dogs available could wipe out thousands of pure breeds. Just like the animals of the wild, pure breed dog species should also be protected. Some may believe that having a shortage of specific breeds, like the pitbull, for example, would not be so bad. But I am here to explain why such an event would be so heartbreakingly tragic. I and thousands of others have taken to social media to raise awareness of the true facts about owning a pitbull. For example, videos can now be found all over the internet about the true danger of pitbulls and Instagram accounts such as the one for my pitbull Luca that open up the day-to-day lives of those that own these types of dogs. This act of transparency will hopefully open the eyes and hearts of those seeking to ban pitbulls and the breeding of them.
