Article about New German laws in Dog World Mag.

[SarasMom]

I received my December issue of Dog World today. I was pleased to find that the editors of that publication are as alarmed by the situation in Germany as we are. The feature article is all about the new German legislation. Also the column by Robert Killick, for those who are familiar with him, is very eye-opening. The editors are very upset by the happenings in Germany, and plan to follow up on these articles. And to top it off, the editorial page blasts the MSNBC article, "Rottweilers the deadliest dog". They note how the media has twisted the original study way out of proportion. Dog World makes it clear that they will have much more to say about this matter.

I urge everyone who is not a subscriber to go out and buy this magazine. It is a very scary read, but necessary if we are to stop these terrible laws from being enacted elsewhere. Show it to all your dog-loving friends and relatives.

The article tells the happenings of what led up to the legislation;- How certain dog breeds have become the scapegoat for the ills of society, and how politics are taking priority over common sense. Does this sound familiar? It was frightening to me because I can see so much in common with what is happening here in the US where I live.

The German legislation has 3 catagories of dangerous or potentially dangerous dogs:

Catagory 1) Pitbulls, AmStaffs, Filas, Tosa Inu, Dogue de Bordeaux, Bull terrier, American Bulldog, Neopolitan Mastiff, and a few others. These dogs are considered "fighting breeds" and are heavily restricted. A special "need to own" permit is required as well as a very difficult temperament test. Also, the breeding, acquisition, mixing, trading, or importation of these breeds is prohibited. Basically, this is an action intended to make these breeds extinct in Germany.

Catagory 2: Includes Rottweilers, Mastiff, Doberman, Kuvasz, Komondor, Bull Mastiff, and many others.
These are considered dogs with "dangerous potential".

Catagory 3: Any dog more than 40 cm (15.7 inches) tall and 20 kg (40 lbs)
These dogs are listed as potentially dangerous because of size alone!

It is not clear from the article what the restrictions are on the dogs in catagories 2 and 3, but from what I can conclude, they all must pass a difficult temperament test.

The very interesting note here; German Shepherd Dogs are except from lists 1 and 2, and are only included in #3 by virtue of their size. This is because restricting GSDs would be political suicide in Germany.

But, the article cites this report on dog bite numbers in Germany in 1998.
58 breeds listed: The top 5 biters
1) GSD mixes: 2,379 bites
2) GSD: 1,956 bites
3) Rottweiler: 542 bites
4) "Pit Bull": 320 bites
5) Doberman Pinscher: 223 bites
6) Bull Terrier: 169 bites

I think these numbers just prove that the whole mess in Germany is just hysteria, and politicans try to make gains from public fear.

Now for the really scary part; Germany is the strongest country in the EU, and the German government tried to get the "fighting dog" laws enacted in the entire EU. This was proposed on Sept. 28, and the only opposition was the British Government. They managed to get the initative put on hold for now. This is ironic because the British government established the "dangerous dog act" about 10 years ago. The government found out that BSL does NOT work. Now they are trying to fight it.

I'm sorry for the novel, but this is one of the most important issues we will discuss here. Yes, it can happen to us! We have to fight with all we have to keep our Rotties. The future of this breed is in OUR hands.

Thanks for listening.