Pit bull law attacked from all sides

By Louisa Cleave and Darrel Mager

Laws designed to control pit bull terriers cannot work because of problems in identifying them, say both dog owners and agencies controlling dogs.

A bill before Parliament could ban imports of the American breed - and embryos and semen - by Christmas and force existing owners to neuter their dogs and muzzle them in public.

But vets, animal control officers, dog lovers and local government groups say the bill is fraught with problems. It would be almost impossible to identify the dogs.

Vets have been advised not to help authorities identify pit bulls because it is too easy to make a wrong assessment.

The Local Government Law Reform Bill, devised to achieve the phased elimination of the breed, would leave district and city councils to identify the pit bulls in their patch and deal with them.

Owners would be required to neuter their pit bulls within a month of being approached by authorities and ensure their pets were muzzled in public places, or face a $1500 fine.

They would have 14 days to object to the authority and prove their dog was not a pit bull. If their objection failed they could take the case to the district court.

Pit bull owners would also pay up to 150 per cent more to register their dog.

Other breeds of dangerous dogs would be next in line if politicians decided the new law had been a success.

The manager of Animal Control Services in Auckland, Ken Muir, said similar legislation had not worked anywhere in the world and would not work here.

"Dangerous dogs should be determined by their behaviour and not by their breed."

Murray Gibb of the Veterinary Association said members had been advised not to help authorities identify pit bulls because it was too easy to make a wrong assessment.

The pit bull closely resembled three other breeds: the English bull terrier, the Staffordshire bull terrier and the American Staffordshire terrier.

"Then you've got all the cross breeds. And the thing is [that] while the American pit bull has this bad image, most of the reported pit bull attacks often actually turn out to be another breed of dog altogether."

Local Government New Zealand, which represents local authorities, said it supported bans on importing dangerous dogs but other proposals in the bill were unnecessary.

It said the number of dog-related accidents recorded by the ACC since the Dog Control Act came into force in 1996 had dropped significantly.

"Great strides have been made in practice but it's time to stop introducing regulations that are difficult to administer and start raising awareness and encouraging responsible dog-owner behaviour," said president Louise Rosson.

A spokesman for the New Zealand American Pit Bull Club, Lance New, said it would be nearly impossible for local authorities to identify a pit bull unless there were papers proving it was a purebred.

About 10,000 American pit bulls were in the country, along with more than 50,000 cross breeds.