Pit Bulls are perhaps one of the least understood breeds of dog. They have a long and sordid history of use as agressive fighting dogs, and maintain an arguably undeserved stigma in the public eye and the media. The remnants of this hysteria are reflected in legislation forwarded by multiple cities around the United States that ban the breed, and in some cases call for the “seizure” and “destruction” of beloved family pets based on these fears.
The City of Denver, Colorado placed and upheld one such breed-specific ban against Pit Bulls in 2005. Leading to a great deal of public outcry, espcially from dog lovers. MSNBC took to an article about how dog owners, shocked by the staggering euthanasia numbers, started up their own version of the Underground Canine Railroad: Denver pit bull ban leads to ‘dogs in hiding’ via MSNBC.
DENVER – A few weeks ago, two police cars and two animal control vehicles pulled up at the home of Stef’ny Steffan looking for her beloved 4-year-old pit bull, Xena. Seven officers hauled the animal off to the city shelter, putting her on death row.
Xena became an outlaw after Denver won a court fight and reinstated one of the toughest pit-bull bans in the nation. Since May, more than 380 dogs have been impounded and at least 260 destroyed — an average of more than three a day.
The numbers today show that since May 9, 2005, the City and County of Denver have euthanized more than 1,100 dogs persuant to the breed ban.
Recently, however, The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit accepted an appeal for consideration–over four years after the fact–based upon a lawsuit arguing against the ban. The Animal Legal Defense Fund filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the plaintiffs and the appeal is set to go forward to the District Court. The legalese of the entire proceeding make our eyes water, but the idea is simple and solid:
Given the Tenth Circuit’s ruling, the case will now proceed in the District Court, where the plaintiffs will be able to present their case that the Denver breed ban is not rationally related to a legitimate government interest. In other words, the plaintiffs will be arguing that while protecting the public from dangerous dogs is an important goal, the Denver breed ban is an irrational way to serve that goal and, therefore, should be unlawful.
We will all have to see how this one goes.
Link, via the ADLF Blog.