More on the Netherlands' repeal of BSL

It was widely reported a couple of months ago that the Netherlands has repealed its 15 year old ordinance that banned "pit bulls" from the country.  The Toronto Humane Society has a more in-depth look at this repeal with a lot more information than exists anywhere else out there.

While the law was originally passed in 1993 following three children being mauled and killed by dogs.  At the time, the country banned "pit bulls".  Later, in 2000, the country added Rottweilers to the list. 

Finally, 8 years later, they scrapped the whole thing saying that neither proved to be a solution to the dangerous dog problem because neither law focused on either canine or human behavior.

More here.

Comments

[Rinalia]

We see the same thing in the UK too where dog bites have increased dramatically. We still also see dog bites inflicted by "pit bull type" dogs, so the 1991 Dangerous Dog Act has some serious glitches.

I'm just glad the Netherlands responded appropriately by modifying their human behavior to try something different, something a little more effective, like enforcing current laws. :)

[Caveat]

Haven't checked the THS site yet, but I hope I didn't translate and edit 250 pages of that government report for nothing! Almost finished...sigh....

[Brent]

Sorry Caveat. I didn't realize you were tranlating that and reading the whole thing. I can't wait to see if you have anything even more insightful to share. I'll be watching.

Yes Rinalia. I've written a lot about the UK ban (you can catch all the stuff on the Blog cloud to the left under UK Dangerous Dogs Act). Approximately a 50% increase in dog bites and attacks in the UK as a whole, 150% increase in Scottland. Yeah, completely ineffective. Just because they've done it, doesn't mean it was the right thing to do. Wish people would get that....

Until we start addressing the issue of problem owners, we'll never solve the overall problem.

[Caveat]

Hey, no problem, the summary at THS was pretty good. I'm just whining...