For many families pets are an integral part that makes a household complete. Although they can be seen to be an attractive proposition, there are serious consequences that deserve careful consideration before committing to them. Every year the number of victims of dog attacks are increasing. The recent mauling of twelve-year old, Samuel Johnston, Victoria sparked a controversy about whether or not dangerous dog breeds should be banned. Although the need for a solution is becoming more urgent, because of the increasing numbers of dog attacks, the banning of dangerous dog breeds fails to guarantee a reduction of these vicious attacks. Unsuccessful implementation of the ban of such dogs is highlighted in several countries and consequently should encourage Australians to think of a more practical alternative including banning irresponsible owners from the privilege of pet ownership. .
Firstly the banning of certain dog breeds does not help to overcome the issue of increasing dog attacks. A recent independent report by veterinary expert Dr. Kersti Sekel commissioned by the Victorian Government claims that banning specific breeds of dogs has failed in other countries such as US, UK, Canada or Germany and found that the number of dog attacks was not reduced since the introduction of those laws. From the results of the report it would be reasonable to conclude that banning vicious dog breeds will not reduce dog attacks in Australia. .
Secondly, breed alone cannot determine if a dog is "dangerous" as there are many other contributing factors. In the above-mentioned report, Dr Sekel also found that breed alone was a poor indicator of whether or not a dog was going to be aggressive towards a human. Although some breeds of dogs are more likely to be involved in violent attacks than others there is no guarantee that dogs considered less dangerous will never be provoked to anger. Therefore, to outlaw breeds according to their alleged risk is discriminatory because it makes no consideration of the fact that all dog breeds may attack under onerous circumstances.
