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Monday, January 25, 2016

Michigan Legislators' Winter Reading List


With the clock running out on the legislative session the representatives will soon decide several important issues. No issue is more controversial, nor more contentious, than Senate Bill 0239, the bill which prohibits Michigan municipalities from enacting public safety measures that restrict pit bulls.

Michigan witnessed back-to-back fatal pit bull attacks on December 2nd and December 3rd, 2015. In the days following the attacks Michigan newspapers and editorial writers found their voice and published a series of opinions about the pending attempt to preempt local public safety laws. The advocates of fighting breeds will continue to press their cause but there is no doubt about where the majority stands on this issue.

In the holiday rush Michigan's legislators may have lost track of the editorials. We have collected them here to remind the legislators of the resounding call for common sense public safety legislation.
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Opinion Pieces:

Pit bull crisis growing; victims need help
   by Joan Kowal
   December 20, 2015; Lansing State Journal

Laws to protect pit bulls would prevent attacks
   By Teresa Chagrin, PETA
   December 15, 2015; Port Huron Times Herald

Time for Detroit to ban pit bulls
   By Jack Lessenberry
   December 15, 2015; Windsor Star

Pit bull attacks are not a racial issue
   by Joan Kowal
   December 13, 2015; Port Huron Times Herald

Pit bull-type dogs have no place in civil society
   by Lori Welbourne
   December 11, 2015; Detroit News

Pit bulls were never meant to be household pets
   by Lori Welbourne
   December 8, 2015; Port Huron Times Herald

Detroit should adopt pit bull ban it didn't 9 years ago
   By Rochelle Riley
   December 5, 2015; Detroit Free Press

Let local laws determine how to reduce dog attacks, restrict breeds
   by Mia Johnson and Joan Kowal
   December 4, 2014; MLive

Recent News :
Woman was pulled to her death by pit bull
   February 4, 2016; Detroit Free Press

Police shoot pit bull near Lansing school
School was on brief lockdown
   January 26, 2016; Lansing State Journal

Owner of dog in Washington Township attack identified
   January 22, 2016; WDIV Detroit

Pet pit bull euthanized after attacking Clinton Township man
   January 12, 2016; Adviser and Source

‘Pit bull-type’ dog bites Macomb Co. man, owner flees
   January 8, 2016; Detroit News

Detroit City Council urges more animal control resources
   January 6, 2016; 9&10 News

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Statistics:
Statistics quoted on SRUV are from the nation's authoritative source for current dog attack statistics, the 32+ year, continuously updated Dog attack deaths and maimings, U.S. & Canada.
View or download the current PDF

Record 33 fatal pit bull attacks & 459 disfigurements in 2015

Pit bulls killed 24,000 other dogs & 13,000 cats in 2015

2015 Dog Bite Related Fatalities (Daxton's Friends)

Fatal Pit Bull Attacks

Today's pit bull attacks

Definitions:
SRUV uses the definition of "pit bull" as found in the Omaha Municipal Code Section 6-163. As pit bulls are increasingly crossed with exotic mastiffs, Catahoula Leopard Dogs and other breeds, the vernacular definition of "pit bull" must be made even more inclusive.

Sources cited by news media sometimes refer to "Animal Advocates" or sometimes "Experts." In many cases these words are used to refer to single-purpose pit bull advocates who have never advocated for any other breeds or species of animals. Media would be more accurate to refer to these pit bull advocates as advocates of fighting breeds.

Similarly, in many cases pit bull advocates refer to themselves as "dog lovers" or "canine advocates" and media often accepts this usage. The majority of these pit bull advocates are single-purpose advocates of fighting breeds.


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