Pit bulls are a much maligned mixed dog breed.
The subject of pit bull laws in Florida has been a controversial one for decades. It has divided those in the animal welfare field as well as Florida lawmakers, law enforcement and concerned public citizens. In April of 1989, legislators in Miami-Dade county enacted an ordinance that made it illegal to own or possess a pit bull dog while living in the county.
Pit Bull Definition and Miami-Dade Ordinance
According to the America Kennel Club (AKC), there is no such thing as a "pit bull." Rather, those dogs most closely associated with dogs called pit bulls are a mixed breed consisting of qualities of a variety of breeds. The breeds that have been repeatedly interbred to produce the fighting dog known as the pit bull are the American Staffordshire terrier, the bull terrier, the Staffordshire terrier and the bulldog. Other breeds were later added to increase size and durability, including the mastiff, Rottweilers and the Perro de Presa Canario.
Owners and aficionados of these breeds became alarmed that the Miami-Dade ordinance against owning pit bulls would apply to their breeds, or that their breeds would be next in line to be banned. Owners in other counties took note.
The Miami-Dade county ordinance caused an exodus of dogs to the neighboring counties of Palm Beach, Monroe, Broward and Martin. These county animal shelters were inundated with private pets who had lost their homes, surrendered by owners desperate to find a way to keep them from being euthanized. These shelters, already dealing with overpopulation issues of their own, struggled to stem the tide of "pitty" breeds being brought in from outside the county.
Though a Florida judge ruled the ordinance unenforceable in 2009, the ordinance remains in place.
Dangerous Dog Bill
National groups such as the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) lobbied hard to enact legislation that would prohibit any further breed-specific legislation. This bill, called the Dangerous Dog Bill, instead prohibits dogs that have already "aggressively bitten, attacked, endangered, or has inflicted severe injury on a human being on public or private property," as well as those which have "when unprovoked, chased or approached a person upon the streets, sidewalks, or any public grounds in a menacing fashion or apparent attitude of attack. ..." The bill placed a ban on ever passing any more breed specific legislation in Florida, and instead of holding an entire breed of dog responsible for dog bites, it held the aggressor, specifically, responsible. This bill is in effect everywhere in Florida except Miami-Dade county and the city of Sunrise.
House Bill 101
In 2007, House Bill 101 was introduced to overturn the ban on breed specific legislation. If the legislation passed, it would have meant that counties and municipalities could once again ban specific breeds in their communities. The bill died in the Committee on Agribusiness in May 2008.
House Bill 543 / Senate Bill 1276
Florida HB 543 / SB 1276, which would have allowed municipalities in Florida to pass breed-specific laws as they pleased, died in committee in May 2010.
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