Yet again a person has been the victim of a savage dog attack. Yet again it is time to urge the Government to take action to end the violence and trauma.

The state government already gave out the power for councils to phase out the Pit bull Terrier but so far, only the Melbourne bayside region of Hobsons Bay has acted decisively.

Despite their dangerous and aggressive behaviour the pit bull is one of the most expensive dogs on the market. They go for  $1000 from breeders and up to $2500 on the black market. One breeding bitch can produce up to 26 pups a year, earning a possible $26,000 in tax-free income for the owner.  Dealers are now using the Internet to meet growing demand. Managing director of the Lost Dogs Home, Dr Graeme Smith, said the dogs were used for illegal fights or by drug dealers to protect their properties. Therefore, they attack people with questionable motives and priorities.

Pit bulls were first developed in the UK during the 19th century when dog lovers crossed bulldogs and terriers to produce a breed with the gameness of a terrier and the strength of a bulldog. They were bred to fight other dogs, but listened to their master’s call in the middle of a fight to stop. Early breeders were careful to maintain the dog’s bond with the humans, but criminals breeding ferocious dogs were less selective. It is frightening not knowing whether or not a dog can be trusted, too late some child might have its arm or leg chomped off and the government will be left to blame because their of tardiness to act. We must take decisive action now and make it clear to the government that such attack can and must be halted.

Howard Galvin is Head of Animal Management with the city of Monash. He is reported to have said that his council preferred to “attack the deed and not the breed.” This policy requires the death of dog after they have attacked the victim. This method of punishment is very well in theory. However, it fails to protect the people from the dogs because the attack would have occurred before the dog is placed in a situation where it can’t hurt people. Therefore, one must take thorough precautions rather than seeking the killer after the attack. The second suggestion that people have raised is that the owner should take responsibility for the attacks and therefore they should be punished for not keeping their dogs muzzled and restrained. Most of the owners of the pit bull terrier are people with special interests and who are different from most conventional people. They are different people like those who are attracted to bikie gangs. Most ordinary people are likely to be unattracted to these dogs because of their high levels of aggressions. Consequently those owners who do own the dogs, should take responsibility for their dogs actions and undergo training to prepare them more effectively for those responsibilities. This is because if the dog is known to have a reputation to be violent then the owner should be prepared to take responsibility to protect people from violent attacks.

Unless the government is prepared to force this legislation on owners, however, very few owners would take on the responsibility by choice. Consequently, the Bracks government should ban the American pit bull from the state unless the owners can take responsibility, understand the tendency of the dogs to attack and accept that they will receive punishment for the actions of their dog.

If the government is not willing to ban the American pit bull, then more and more people will be attacked as their numbers grow every year. If the government is not prepared to do this, the least they could do is put harsh punishments on those that let their dogs have the opportunity to attack the innocent.