A couple of weeks ago, the city council of the city of Buckner, MO (Population 3,072) unanimously voted to repeal the community's 16 year old ban on 'pit bulls'. The change makes Buckner at least the 19th city in Missouri to repeal its breed-specific law.
This isn't first time Buckner has made attempts to repeal. The city also considered repealing the law in 2008 after a member of the community sold her house but the people who bought it found out about the city's ban and backed out of the sale. That vote narrowly failed (4-3). This time around, it was a unanimous decision.
The decision in Buckner is a good one -- as organizations representing experts in the field of animal behavior unanimously oppose breed-specific policies -- which are not based on sound science, or on best knowledge of canine behavior, and are ineffective and inefficient at trying to improve public safety. And because of this, more and more communities, like Buckner, are turning away from breed-specific policies and instead toward breed neutral, behavior-based animal control ordinances.
Congrats to the community of Buckner, MO.
AWESOME!!! Great news.
Posted by: Cheryl Huerta | September 17, 2016 at 12:00 PM
Fantastic news! Thanks for the update.
Posted by: Greg Kohler | September 17, 2016 at 12:23 PM
Don't get me started. The breed of dog I have now is the same kind I've had since I was six. They are the most loyal breed in the world. Not to mention the smartest. I call these laws and ordinances prejudice plain and simple. I'm so glad I live in a county, city and state where I'm not told what breed of dog I can't own, love, train and show her pics off on FB or Instagram.
Posted by: Patrick Johnson | September 18, 2016 at 09:15 AM