Post by michele5611 on Sept 18, 2013 13:03:03 GMT -5
www.valleybreeze.com/2013-09-10/pawtucket/bites-pit-bulls-have-dropped-dramatically-2004#.UjnqUkjD_PQ
Bites by pit bulls have dropped dramatically since 2004
Hearing on Alix's leash law violation put off to Sept. 20
By ETHAN SHOREY, Valley Breeze Staff Writer
PAWTUCKET - The city has seen a dramatic decline in the number of attacks by pit bulls since a 2004 ban on the breed went into effect, according to data released by local officials.
In response to an open records request by The Breeze, the Pawtucket Police Department and Pawtucket Animal Control, through City Solicitor Frank Milos, provided documents showing just how rarely pit bulls have attacked people or animals in the city since the ban was enacted.
For the four years leading up to the ban, from 2000 to 2003, officers responded to 71 incidents of biting or scratching involving pit bulls in Pawtucket, a majority of those, 51, involving attacks on people.
In the 10 years since the ban was put in place, police responded to 23 total attacks involving pit bulls, with only 13 of those involving attacks on people.
For three years, 2008, 2010, and 2012, there were no attacks by pit bulls reported, according to the information provided by the city.
The following are the 71 pit bulls attacks separated out by year for the four years before Pawtucket's pit bull ban went into effect:
* 2000 - 20 incidents, 18 involving attacks on people, two involving other animals.
* 2001 - 14 incidents, nine involving attacks on people, five on animals.
* 2002 - 17 incidents, 14 involving attacks on people, three on animals.
* 2003 - 20 incidents, 11 involving attacks on people, nine on animals.
The following are the 23 pit bull attacks in the city for the 10 years since Pawtucket's pit bull ban was unanimously approved by the Rhode Island General Assembly:
* 2004 - Eight incidents, five involving attacks on people, three involving attacks on other animals.
* 2005 - One incident involving a person being attacked.
* 2006 - Three incidents, one involving an attack on a person, two on animals.
* 2007 - Four incidents, one involving an attack on a person, three on animals.
* 2008 - No incidents.
* 2009 - Two incidents, both involving attacks on people.
* 2010 - No incidents.
* 2011 - Two incidents, both involving attacks on people.
* 2012 - No incidents.
* 2013 - Three incidents, one involving an attack on a person, two on animals.
John Holmes, Pawtucket's veteran animal control officer and the key proponent of the 2004 ban, said the numbers before and after 2004 "speak for themselves."
"The law's worked," he said. "We didn't put this law in to destroy pit bulls, in fact, quite the opposite."
The last serious pit bull attack in Pawtucket was the day the bill was signed into law, said Holmes. Residents have been safer because of the ban, he said.
"Public safety has always been the issue," he said. "They're just missing so much of what this is all about. We're going backward here."
Al Alix, the lifelong city resident and real estate agent who plans to challenge the city's pit bull ban in court, told The Breeze he questions the numbers provided by the city. Instead of taking so much time to enforce a blanket ban, said Alix, officials should be spending more time getting to know the dogs they are trying to keep out of the city, like his pit bull "Chubs."
A hearing on Alix's violation of the city's leash law has been postponed from this Friday, Sept. 13, to Sept. 20 at 9 a.m. in Pawtucket Municipal Court. Depending on the outcome of that hearing, Alix says he plans to take the city to court over their efforts to take away Chubs. If city officials came to the ball field to see all the children who come over to pet Chubs, they would have difficulty telling him that his dog poses a danger, said Alix.
"Of course" he feels badly about attacks by pit bulls, said Alix, but he remains convinced that pit bulls who go on the attack are not raised properly by caring owners. When pit bulls are outlawed, said Alix, the "bad guys" just find another type of dog to train to fight.
He also feels "sick" for the families who have had to give up their family pet in the name of a law that should never have been passed in the first place, he said.
The pit bull issue is now a "national issue," said Alix, with even President Obama coming out in August in support of the breed and against breed-specific legislation. With state legislators passing a ban this year on breed-specific legislation, said Alix, Pawtucket "doesn't stand a chance" if this conflict comes down to a court battle.
Even though the General Assembly voted this year to prohibit municipalities like Pawtucket from instituting bans on specific breeds like pit bulls, city officials say they see the law as "prospective" in nature and therefore having no impact on ordinances already in place. Police have said they'll continue enforcing the pit bull ban as long as it is in place.
Bites by pit bulls have dropped dramatically since 2004
Hearing on Alix's leash law violation put off to Sept. 20
By ETHAN SHOREY, Valley Breeze Staff Writer
PAWTUCKET - The city has seen a dramatic decline in the number of attacks by pit bulls since a 2004 ban on the breed went into effect, according to data released by local officials.
In response to an open records request by The Breeze, the Pawtucket Police Department and Pawtucket Animal Control, through City Solicitor Frank Milos, provided documents showing just how rarely pit bulls have attacked people or animals in the city since the ban was enacted.
For the four years leading up to the ban, from 2000 to 2003, officers responded to 71 incidents of biting or scratching involving pit bulls in Pawtucket, a majority of those, 51, involving attacks on people.
In the 10 years since the ban was put in place, police responded to 23 total attacks involving pit bulls, with only 13 of those involving attacks on people.
For three years, 2008, 2010, and 2012, there were no attacks by pit bulls reported, according to the information provided by the city.
The following are the 71 pit bulls attacks separated out by year for the four years before Pawtucket's pit bull ban went into effect:
* 2000 - 20 incidents, 18 involving attacks on people, two involving other animals.
* 2001 - 14 incidents, nine involving attacks on people, five on animals.
* 2002 - 17 incidents, 14 involving attacks on people, three on animals.
* 2003 - 20 incidents, 11 involving attacks on people, nine on animals.
The following are the 23 pit bull attacks in the city for the 10 years since Pawtucket's pit bull ban was unanimously approved by the Rhode Island General Assembly:
* 2004 - Eight incidents, five involving attacks on people, three involving attacks on other animals.
* 2005 - One incident involving a person being attacked.
* 2006 - Three incidents, one involving an attack on a person, two on animals.
* 2007 - Four incidents, one involving an attack on a person, three on animals.
* 2008 - No incidents.
* 2009 - Two incidents, both involving attacks on people.
* 2010 - No incidents.
* 2011 - Two incidents, both involving attacks on people.
* 2012 - No incidents.
* 2013 - Three incidents, one involving an attack on a person, two on animals.
John Holmes, Pawtucket's veteran animal control officer and the key proponent of the 2004 ban, said the numbers before and after 2004 "speak for themselves."
"The law's worked," he said. "We didn't put this law in to destroy pit bulls, in fact, quite the opposite."
The last serious pit bull attack in Pawtucket was the day the bill was signed into law, said Holmes. Residents have been safer because of the ban, he said.
"Public safety has always been the issue," he said. "They're just missing so much of what this is all about. We're going backward here."
Al Alix, the lifelong city resident and real estate agent who plans to challenge the city's pit bull ban in court, told The Breeze he questions the numbers provided by the city. Instead of taking so much time to enforce a blanket ban, said Alix, officials should be spending more time getting to know the dogs they are trying to keep out of the city, like his pit bull "Chubs."
A hearing on Alix's violation of the city's leash law has been postponed from this Friday, Sept. 13, to Sept. 20 at 9 a.m. in Pawtucket Municipal Court. Depending on the outcome of that hearing, Alix says he plans to take the city to court over their efforts to take away Chubs. If city officials came to the ball field to see all the children who come over to pet Chubs, they would have difficulty telling him that his dog poses a danger, said Alix.
"Of course" he feels badly about attacks by pit bulls, said Alix, but he remains convinced that pit bulls who go on the attack are not raised properly by caring owners. When pit bulls are outlawed, said Alix, the "bad guys" just find another type of dog to train to fight.
He also feels "sick" for the families who have had to give up their family pet in the name of a law that should never have been passed in the first place, he said.
The pit bull issue is now a "national issue," said Alix, with even President Obama coming out in August in support of the breed and against breed-specific legislation. With state legislators passing a ban this year on breed-specific legislation, said Alix, Pawtucket "doesn't stand a chance" if this conflict comes down to a court battle.
Even though the General Assembly voted this year to prohibit municipalities like Pawtucket from instituting bans on specific breeds like pit bulls, city officials say they see the law as "prospective" in nature and therefore having no impact on ordinances already in place. Police have said they'll continue enforcing the pit bull ban as long as it is in place.
I look forward to learning much here