More pit bull bans
This time in Israel:
The law’s regulations determine for the first time a list of breeds that may not be imported and those already here must be neutered by the end of the year. The Ministry of Agriculture is expecting that breeds such as the Rottweiler, the Amstaff and the Pit Bull will vanish from the Israeli landscape.
Groan. And the criteria for the ban:
The law calls for the establishment of a national registration center for all canine breeds, and not only dangerous ones. It is this provision that has delayed the law’s implementation so far. Over the next few years, an electronic chip will be inserted into every dog that comes to a veterinarian to receive an inoculation or other treatment. Responsibility for this procedure will fall on the veterinarians of the local authorities. This will make it possible to fight the ugly phenomenon of owners suddenly tiring of their pets and abandoning the unfortunate dogs on street corners.
Implementation of the law in a manner that would ensure that it does not become a dead letter in the legal code, is highly dependent upon the veterinarians, local authority inspectors and police. The law makes it possible to easily define and locate a “dangerous” breed, but on the basis of the law, the veterinarians are expected to warn the citizens and also report to the Ministry of Agriculture about mixed breeds that have the same characteristics as those of dangerous breeds.
For example, a dog that is a mix of Rottweiler and German shepherd. The neighborhood vet is supposed to assess if the dog’s characteristics answer to the definition of a dangerous dog, and explain to the client that the dog must be neutered.
Will veterinarians report clients that own such dogs and who refuse to have them neutered to the Ministry of Agriculture? The ministry is threatening that if a dog bites a person and it develops that a certain veterinarian had seen it and failed to report it as a dangerous dog – measures will be taken against the veterinarian. It is doubtful that this threat would sufficiently persuasive to veterinarians who could lose clients as a result of said report.
Appearance based characteristics are largely useless. Additionally, it seems pretty easy to subvert the law.
