58% of dogs killed in shelters are pit bull types

[RealPitBull]

Stats from Wiki, courtesy of Animal People.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pit_Bull#History

FROM THE TERRIERMAN BLOG:

terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/

Is 400 Million Pounds of Dead Pit Bull Enough?

As you can see from the graph, above, canine shelter impounds and euthanasias have seen a steady decline for more than 30 years. This trend continues across the nation.

Now for the other math.

Nearly a million Pit Bulls were euthanized in American shelters last year --more dogs than were registered by the American Kennel Club.

Rather than decline, Pit Bull euthanasia rates have been on the rise for 30 years due to the fact that Pit Bill "lovers" continue to breed these dogs, and Pit Bull "lovers" then acquire them as puppies only to abandon them in jaw-dropping numbers that far exceed demand.

More Pit Bulls were killed in shelters this year than the total number of dogs registered this year by the American Kennel Club.

In the last decade, about 800,000 Pit Bulls a year have been killed in shelters (the number is rising, and is now nearly one million).

To put it another way, about 8 million 50-pound Pit Bulls were euthanized in Animal Shelters in the last 10 years.

More than 400 MILLION POUNDS of Pit Bulls were euthanized in American shelters this decade.

How can we assure that more than 400 million pounds Pit Bulls are killed in the decade ahead?

Just follow these steps, which helped this last decade improve on the record Pit Bull kill rates of the 1980s and 1990s:

Be sure to devote 100 times more space to the evils of local and national animal control organizations than you do to the need to spay and neuter Pit Bulls. Remember that it is not enough to stand silent about the need to spay-neuter Pit Bulls -- you need to demonize the people who have one million Pit Bulls a year dumped on their doors. Remember the problem is never Pit Bull breeders or owners. The problem is always with those who have yet to figure out how to cope with the massive Pit Bull mess thrown into their laps. Only by talking about their failures, can the Pit Bull community keep the spotlight off of their own silence and acquiescence to the problem. Make this "Step One," and we are to kill more Pit Bulls in the decade ahead than we did in the decade behind.

Continue to say Pit Bulls are "just like any other dog." If anyone points out that no other breed is abandoned at these rates, that no other breed is euthanized in these numbers, and that no other breed is implicated in so many violent dog attacks, be sure to claim that raising these points is bigotry. No other response is needed. This tactic worked fabulously well in the past decade, and was key to achieving rising Pit Bull kill rates this past decade. Let's keep it up!

Define the problem as being about dog fighting and law enforcement. Ignore the fact that most euthanized Pit Bulls are not fighting dogs, and that there is no law against breeding dogs or dumping poorly placed dogs in local animal shelters. It's enough to say "those people" are the problem and that "animal control" is not doing its job. However, if animal control ever does show up to levy a fine or seize a dog, be sure to scream "Gestapo" as loudly as you can, and never mind if you have any evidence.

There is every reason to believe we will kill more Pit Bulls in 2010 than in 2009.

We have already started the year off with a bang. With the help of Pit Bull breeders and owners who have supplied the dogs and then abandoned them, we can expect more than 2,400 dead dogs to die tomorrow!

Sure, it's just a start, but if the Pit Bull community will continue to follow the three-step program outlined above, I know the numbers will only increase in the decade ahead. Remember: If you keep on doing what you always did, you'll keep on getting what you always got.

[RealPitBull]

See also from the Terrierman Blog:

Pit Bulls and Holocaust Deniers

When told that nearly a million Pit Bulls a year are now being killed at shelters, and that these dogs were bred by Pit Bull "lovers" who then sold them to other Pit Bull "lovers" who then abandoned them to their death a year or so later, most of the folks who have been boiled in the oil of the Pit Bull community are .

You mean Pit Bull "haters" are not the problem? No, they are not. Pit Bull haters are not breeding the dogs. Pit Bulls haters are not abandoning the dogs. Pit Bull haters are not fighting the dogs. Pit Bull haters are not abusing the dogs. That's all on the Pit Bull "lovers".

You can see the tiny mental wheels working .... rationalizing. And, then, as predictable as a squaking parrot, the excuse for abuse kicks in, most of it framed on the same same stage as that used by Holocaust deniers and minimizers.


A million Pit Bulls a year? That's not so bad. That's only 40% of all canine euthanasias.
"Even if we agree a few million Jews died at Auschwitz, let's remember how many Sioux died from smallpox after Columbus. Also let's remember all those deaths on the Russian front. Besides, people die in wars all the time. So what?"


Humane groups are blamed for not doing more to stop "back yard breeders," and its proclaimed that "no one else has the money" to do anything.
"The Americans could have bombarded the railroad tracks to Auschwitz and the other death camps. If Jews died, it's the Americans fault. The average German could have done nothing."


The number must be wrong. After all, they are experts, they had no idea.
"The mass killing and burning of millions of Jews? It's all a fiction. The towns people at Auschwitz said they smelled nothing. And really, who knew more about what was going on than they did? They were right there!"


No one knows what a Pit Bull is, and so no one has any data.
"The Jewish holocaust numbers are fiction. Everyone looked alike in Germany to the point the Jews had to wear a Star of David. No one really knew who was Jewish. Besides, not everyone who died in Auschwitz was a Jew -- some were dwarfs, or gay, or mental defectives, or Catholics. All the numbers are meaningless."


It all has to do with poor people with bad values. As soon as we get rid of all the poor people and all the bad values, everything will be fine.
"What happened in World War II is not Germany's fault. The Germans should never have been treated so harshly at the Treaty of Versailles after World War I. The Germans were really the first victims here, and the Jews just followed as collateral damage. If you want to assess blame, then blame the countries that wrote the Treat of Versailles."


That's about it, isn't it?

Those are the head-in-the-sand arguments made in defense of doing nothing, saying nothing, and ignoring the over-breeding of Pit Bulls in this country.


It's no big deal, nothing can be done, we had no idea, and besides if anyone is to blame it's those people who framed the Treaty of Versailles."


Of course there is another argument.

This one was heard all the time in the U.S. in the 1930s. It goes like this:


"Every country is independent, and we do not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. We can try to persuade the Germans not to do bad things to the Jews, but really, it's their people, and we would not want to violate any country's sovereignty. That would violate our principles."


Right.

Wouldn't want to violate any "principles." There is no principle against killing a million Pit Bulls a year. No one to blame for that! All perfectly legal. Nothing can be done. Why even talk about it?

Besides, who cares? They're just dogs. Pig-chasing dogs.

Schweinhund.

[suziriot]

Sigh. I hate terrierman. He is a reactionary, hypocritical @**hole and is guilty of many of the things he slams others for doing.

But. He does often hide good points in his diatribes. This whole "divide" in the pit bull and even in the general rescue community is not unique to animal rescue issues. I advocate the middle path of rationality and accountability. Yes, organizations like HSUS and ASPCA, etc are dealing with a huge problem. Those of us who work and volunteer in rescue know about making those tough life and death decisions. However, the fact that these national organizations are dealing with this on such a large scale only increases the need for accountability and good policies. Just my opinion, but his argument that the pit bull community should not criticize them is like the argument that we should not criticize our government in a time of war. As a crisis becomes worse, the need for accountability and public debate becomes even more important. But that public debate needs to be reasonable and have a practical purpose. For example, I disagreed with all of the hand wringing and anger directed at the ASPCA over Oreo. But I strongly agreed with the pressure put on HSUS to change their policies on fight bust dogs. This is a two way street, and the large orgs do need to pay attention to the little "pit bull people."

[emilys]

I'm surprised you would print his crap. It's crap. No one who starts from a position of crap can have anything useful to say.
There is NO PIT BULL COMMUNITY, for one thing, just as there is no community for any other type of dogs. There are groups of rescuers, groups of performance people, groups of show people etc. To accuse some mythical creation of his of being responsible for the deaths of pit bulls in shelters is ridiculous. The 58% figure is ridiculous, too.. Terrierman has posted that any dog anyone thinks is a pit bull IS a pit bull. He doesn't even think the APBT is a breed either. He's a racist and a hypocrite. The only reason he writes about pit bulls is to get attention and to increase the number of hits on his blog. Remember, he WANTS legal restrictions on pit bull owners...

[emilys]

not to mention that HIS sport is to send his dogs out to harass and kill innocent small mammals (except when HE does the killing). It boggles my mind that people keep lauding this possum murderer.

[valliesong]

I must say, though, that putting pit bull "lovers" in quotes is right. Saying you love pit bulls and actually doing something to save the dogs are two totally different things. Most backyard breeders and irresponsible owners "love" pit bulls, but it is not true love - it is self-serving.

If you truly love pit bulls, you are educating, advocating, and rescuing. If you are breeding, you have OFAs and CERFs and BAERsand championship titles in both working and conformation, plus temperament tests and S/N of pet quality pups and contracts and and and... If you are rescuing, you are doing homevisits and reference checks and temperament testing and contracts and and and... If you own a pit bull, you keep your dog contained, trained, indoors, loved, and and and...

I agree, Em, there is no "pit bull community." Some of us are in it for the dogs, and the rest are in it for themselves.

[suziriot]

I totally agree with you Valerie, but I do think that there is a pit bull RESCUE community. Not at all the same as this so-called "pit bull lovers community" crap that he's spewing about.

[emilys]

not to mention: is HE taking responsibility for all the JRTs in rescue? Where's the "Jack Russell Terrier" community????

[RealPitBull]

Emily, I posted this stuff here just to generate some discussion. You know I can't stand this guy! I think he has no right delving into these issues because he a) obviously has a problem with the breed, b) doesn't seem to know anything about them, and c) isn't involved in the Pit Bull community in any way as far as I can tell. (And yes, his hunting bothers me, as well).

But like Suzi, I do believe he occasional makes a point worth considering, even if that point is made badly. The fact that "Pit Bull Lovers" are the problem is exactly right. So is his observation that many people in the Pit Bull 'community' (ok, term used loosely) deflect rather than address or take responsibility for problems.

BTW, the '58% of dogs killed are Pit Bulls' stat comes from Animal People.......

[emilys]

sorry, I will not take responsibility for the actions of others. I am not responsible for the badly bred "pit bulls" that exist. I am not responsible for the lab/boxer/pit mixes that encompass that 58% figure in shelters.

[RealPitBull]

Where does that leave rescuers, then, in terms of 'not wanting to take responsibility'? Where does that leave breeders who just produce but never foster or rescue?

I think when you love a breed, that means having to step up in some regards and help the dogs who are at the mercy of those who do NOT take responsibility.

You aren't responsible in terms of the creation of the problem, but I do think it's ALL of our responsibility in terms of trying to make the world better for our breed and fix existing problems.

When I hear people bitch and moan about BSL and attacks in papers yet they don't seem to be working in any way to do something to IMPROVE the situation, yeah that bothers me.

[emilys]

I don't see trying to make things better for individual dogs as "taking responsibility" for the behavior of morons.

[emilys]

and BTW, what Terrierman means by "taking responsibility" is that pit bull owners should accept laws restricting ownership of our (or "their") dogs... which is another reason never to quote or link to him.