Interesting poll on who does, and does not, support breed-specific laws

This was an interesting news report from a couple of weeks ago out of Calgary.

In a citywide poll, seniors in Calgary were more likely to be in favor of outlawing 'pit bulls and other large canines' more so than younger Calgarians, who overwhelmingly rejected such a law.

According to the poll, 64% of those over the age of 70 supported breed bans, while only 19% of those aged 18-29 were in favor.  Overall, 48% opposed breed bans, while 40% supported them.

It's worth noting that the poll was done as a non-random internet poll, so the data is far from scientific, but it does reflect similar research done over the years that indicates that while older people tend to favor breed specific laws (likely rooted in decades old hysteria that no longer has merit), younger people overwhelmingly oppose BSL. This also helps us understand why more and more communities are continuing to move away from the idea of breed-specific legislation and instead, moving more toward breed-neutral policies that focus on the behavior of the dogs.

It's also worth noting that Calgary, with its breed-neutral, behavior-based policies, has long been upheld as one of the models of animal control in North America (even though a very recent trend line, in part due to how bites are reported, has caused an increase in bite reports in the past cocuple of years).

Comments

[Lisa (Hospets)]

It's funny because I so often hear that seniors are in favor of BSL, but my personal experiences with seniors is the opposite. (I don't doubt the polls) Many of the seniors I have talked with had a pit bull "type" dog when they were kids. Even my Grandmother at age 91 said "they are just dogs". The age group I most often hear negative remarks from is the 38-50 range.

[Brent]

Hey, easy. I'm in that range you talk about :)

I think a lot of people were really impacted by the VERY negative hyperbole and hysteria of the mid-late 80s -- so I do think a lot of people who are 'older' still carry a bit of that around, particularly if they were unlikely to ever really spend time with dogs. There may be a chance that people who are very senior (like, 91) would have had a lot of positive experiences in the 40s when there was more hysteria over other types of dogs. I do find the divide interesting, and that it exists in a lot of different areas, including legalizing marijuana and gay marriage.

[Lisa (Hospets)]

I'm in that range as well :)

[Melanie]

I'm in the 38-50 age range and love my Pit Bulls! Im my experience here in Michigan, the older folks I see tend to remember back when the Pit Bull was America's sweetheart and used on posters for WWI and WWII. They always stop me and talk about the Pit Bull they knew or owned. A lot of folks in my age group want them banned, but that seems to be turning around. And the younger crowd tends to have no clue about anything policy wise. Some like Pits, some run for the hills. Few are politically active or politically aware of legislation like BSL.

[Selma]

I think an important factor would also be where people get information from.

Although I am an older person, ie, over 60, I have used primarily the internet for both corporate media and blogs, scientific papers and other sources for many years. I think that if you get all your info from 10-second sound bites on the news or from superficial reports it can certainly colour your opinion on a host of issues - including BSL.

I think it's safe to say that the majority of young people are plugged in to Facebook, Twitter, the blogosphere and other sources but maybe most older people prefer traditional media such as TV, radio or print newspapers.

I wonder if that was a factor they asked about in the survey, because I suspect it would be more important than age alone.

[Brent]

Yes Selma, I would tend to agree.