FL BSL

Latest info.  Appearently some people are jumping the guns so to speak.

Sounds like we can rest easy this year. 

 

ALERT UPDATE: Florida HB 101

About Florida HB 101: BREED SPECIFIC BANS IN FLORIDA!!!!

Response from Office of Representative Bill Heller

Morning,

We have received all of your emails regarding HB 101 language being tacked onto HB 1227. This information is not true and we are not sure where it is coming from.

Also, to reassure you some more....

-I talked to HB 101's bill sponsor, Rep. Thurston's office this morning- they have no plans on even attempting to put their language on ours.

-Unfortunately, HB 1227 is also dead for this session- it has not been heard in the Senate or the House. So even if it was added, it would be going anywhere. The House is pretty much done with committees for the year, so the chances of HB 1227 getting heard are slim to none. As you may know, we took this bill over when Rep. Peterman left the House- we had very little time to get it amended.

We hope to do better next year.

-If the language was ever added, Rep. Heller does not support it, which would likely deter committee members from voting for it.

We are thrilled to all of your support for our legislation and to hear your opinions regarding others. I know this is an issue you are very passionate about it and I can assure you that this language will go no where near our language and would never pass would with Rep. Heller's name anywhere near it. We look forward to working with you more in the future.

Merritt Martin

Office of Representative Bill Heller

I know it's one county, but I see Miami-Dade County on Animal Cops enforcing and shutting down dog fighting operations and they mention that pit bulls are banned in that county, so they work to place to dogs they seize that are adoptable to organizations outside the county.  Seems like at least one locality in FL is trying to do something about dog fighting.

I'm proud to report it's now against the law to be a spectator at an organized dog fight in my state and that all animal fighting is against the law.  Thank you Mr. Vick.

BCMixs

I know it's one county, but I see Miami-Dade County on Animal Cops enforcing and shutting down dog fighting operations and they mention that pit bulls are banned in that county, so they work to place to dogs they seize that are adoptable to organizations outside the county.  Seems like at least one locality in FL is trying to do something about dog fighting.

Don't believe everything you see on TV.  Check when the last time a dog fighting arrest was made in Miami-Dade.  O yes pits are banned in that county and there are pits running around everywhere!!!.  Don't believe that they are adopted out of county.  They are destroyed if they are impounded. You are given a $500 fine on the first day that they find the dog.  If you don't get it out of the county you get a $500 a day after that with the dog then being impounded then euthanized.

There are AC shelters in Florida won't even adopt out pits. 

timsdat

Don't believe everything you see on TV.  Check when the last time a dog fighting arrest was made in Miami-Dade.  O yes pits are banned in that county and there are pits running around everywhere!!!.  Don't believe that they are adopted out of county.  They are destroyed if they are impounded. You are given a $500 fine on the first day that they find the dog.  If you don't get it out of the county you get a $500 a day after that with the dog then being impounded then euthanized.

Well, here's one:

http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=9964240

I'm sure they're probably under adopted given the ban and in general pits aren't as readily adopted across the country, certainly that's the case here in Richmond, but it appears there are plenty of pit rescues in the areas surrounding Miami-Dade who are saving at least SOME of these dogs.  I don't believe they are summarily euthanized at impound based solely on breed, but it's late and I don't think AC is open right now for me to confirm that.

Last news article of an arrest for dog fighting I found was January '08.  I don't imagine too many dog fighters are rushing to Miami Dade to set up shop after a 20 year ban.  They're dumb, but not that dumb so I wouldn't expect a high number of arrests IN Miami-Dade, but there were loads of articles on arrests in FL, all in recent months.  It's hard to make an arrest when something isn't against the law and localities are only recently beginning to strengthen their fighting laws and only since Vick are more prosecutors willing to go forward with the cases.

That rescues dogs are kept in foster homes. Many of which are probably not even in Miami-Dade county. That rescue is probably the only one down there with pit bulls. And they get away with it because they are fostered out, in another county.

As Steve said, don't believe everything you see on TV. Animal-Cops and real life are NOT the same. Things DO NOT run like they do on TV. Things are exagerated, things are left out.

I'm not sure where you are getting your facts from. Dog fighting IS against the law here in FL. It's a 3rd degree felony to participate, to watch and to own dogs inteneded for use in fighting. Sounds pretty against the law to me.

I wasn't referring to whether it was or wasn't against the law, but in some areas it is only now being made a crime, I was more referring to the willingness of prosecutors to go forward with the cases, and the new laws that have helped ACOs in being able to use the presence of certain items (steroids, breaksticks, etc) as evidence and the possession of those things being admissible as evidence of dogfighting and in itself a crime (much like the possession of burglary tools).  Prior to the Vick case, these cases were not as easy to go forward with and in some areas, the laws required ACOs to actually witness and break up an active dog fight in order for charges to stick.

You're kidding right?  There's loads of pit bull rescue groups in FL.  How many of them have dogs specifically from Dade county's AC facility, I can't say w/o contacting them, but clearly there is not a set policy of instant euthanization in that facility based solely on breed or this pup wouldn't be available.

But this thread is about FL, and in FL it is a FELONY to have anything to do with dog fighting. You said it was hard to make an arrest over something that wasn't against the law. I'm telling you NOW that it IS against the law.

Where are these loads of pitty rescues in FL. I would like to know of some. I can think of maybe 3 or 4 reputable ones. That's not very many when you look at how big this state is, and how many pitties are being turned out every day. I'm not saying Dade AC doesn't send out any pits, I'm sure they have sent out a few. Bottom line, animal control centers are a government run facility, and their government has said that pit bulls are not allowed in their county. Your trying to tell me that the county run facility does not follow the rules that they set in place?

BCMixs

I wasn't referring to whether it was or wasn't against the law, but in some areas it is only now being made a crime, I was more referring to the willingness of prosecutors to go forward with the cases, and the new laws that have helped ACOs in being able to use the presence of certain items (steroids, breaksticks, etc) as evidence and the possession of those things being admissible as evidence of dogfighting and in itself a crime (much like the possession of burglary tools).  Prior to the Vick case, these cases were not as easy to go forward with and in some areas, the laws required ACOs to actually witness and break up an active dog fight in order for charges to stick.

Dog fighting has been prosecuted in Florida a long time before the Vick case.  That case didn't change anything.  As to the use of circumstantial evidence being used for a conviction. Don't count on it.  A treadmill is considered a dog fighting tool yet there are many people that own this tool, doesn't make them a dog fighter. 

BCMixs

You're kidding right?  There's loads of pit bull rescue groups in FL.  How many of them have dogs specifically from Dade county's AC facility, I can't say w/o contacting them, but clearly there is not a set policy of instant euthanization in that facility based solely on breed or this pup wouldn't be available.

I would bet not too many.  These rescue groups are getting dogs privately not from the AC and the rescue that you listed picks up street dogs.

When a PB enters Miami AC it is labeled non-adoptable and that is it. This happens also in other places in the state.

http://www.dogsbite.org/blog/2008/01/florida-animal-shelter-disallows-pit.html 

For liability reasons, last month St. Johns County officials decided to ban adoptions of pit bulls from the county's animal shelter. This means that if the animals are not claimed by their owners -- which is often the case, particularly because shelters do not release animals unless they are spayed or neutered -- they are euthanized.

Paul Studivant, the St. Johns County Animal Control manager reports that pit bulls are responsible for 2/3 of bite cases in the county. The dogs are also overbred and dumped, leaving his department to pick up the pieces.

Other counties in Florida have adopted similar policies including Putnam and Polk.

And this policy is in place in many AC shelters throughout the country.

And by the way there is plenty of fighting going on in Miami-Dade.  Maybe not large organized operations but it's still there.  The problem is and the same everywhere, finding them.

Yes, this rescue does rescue street dogs but also from the shelter.  "He was confiscated along with the rest of his litter from dog fighters in Miami. "  And I suppose these listings of dogs that are clearly pit bulls or mixes in Miami-Dade's shelter is just a smokescreen to hide their mass euthanization at the entry door of pits and pit mixes, right?

Mimi, Louie and Sara sure appear to be pits or pit mixes to me and here they are for adoption right in Dade County.  I have a call in to find out how they would  handle the adoption of these dogs given the ban, if they require that the adopter does not live in Dade County. 

As to the number of rescues in the Miami area working to find adoptable pits homes, I'll let Petfinder speak for me:

http://www.petfinder.com/search/search.cgi?animal=Dog&breed=Pit%20Bull%20Terrier&preview=1&exact=1

But hey, I'm just an AR terrorist so what do I know, right?

American Bulldogs and Bull Terriers are NOT pit bulls. Those are AKC registered seperate breeds. Miami-Dade laws says nothing about those breeds, just pit bulls - which those dogs CLEARLY are not. They can adopt them out because they ARE NOT PIT BULLS.

And. Just because someone is listed on petfinder does not make them a reputable rescue, or a real rescue for that matter.

Your aguments are not vaild. Please research your facts before making claims such as these. This thread is about how to stop BSL in FL. That is a very important topic to me, and I do know my facts, from real life expierences, not through some TV show on animal planet.

BCMixs

Mimi, Louie and Sara sure appear to be pits or pit mixes to me and here they are for adoption right in Dade County.  I have a call in to find out how they would  handle the adoption of these dogs given the ban, if they require that the adopter does not live in Dade County. 

NO they don't appear to be dogs listed in the Miami ban.  The ban only applies to APBT's, Staffies, and Am Staffs or their mixes.  The ones that you have shown appear to be Am Bulldogs and Bull Terriers.

BCMixs

As to the number of rescues in the Miami area working to find adoptable pits homes, I'll let Petfinder speak for me:

I looked at a good part of the list but none listed are in the Miami area and I would be willing to bet that they are not going to Miami to get dogs, they have plenty in their local area.  Most are at least a 4 hour drive away and I didn't see any breed specific rescues listed.  Now Broward and PB do get some PB's in from Miami but those are from people that surrender their dogs to them because they live in Miami.  In fact when the ban first went into effect they were flooded with dogs being being brought by folks that owned them in Miami.

The American Pit Bull Terrier was derived from these breeds, and to your point, is part of the reason why BSL does NOT work.  I never spoke FOR BSL but attempted to make the point that even in a county that has a ban, attempts are being made to save them and they are not routinely euthanized at the door.  I initially based that information off episodes I'd seen on Animal Planet, but that belief is further supported by dogs available for adoption in that county that could EASILY be viewed as "pit bull mixes" under the law, but clearly SOMEBODY at MDCAC cares even a tiny bit about saving these dogs, because they've got them available for adoption and choose (as many localities do) to list them as a more "acceptable" breed in an attempt to save them.  I have no doubt they are over-represented in the euthanization rates, that's true in most areas, but I (again) don't believe they are routinely euthanized at the door.  No evidence to support that statement has been given and I'm the only one who's picked up the phone and called to ask.  Evidence from their own website and rescues in the surrounding areas would indicate otherwise.

I'm not even going to go into the breed rescue because it's not pertinent to this discussion.  Suffice it to say all breed rescues travel far and wide if they can help a dog and I'm sure there are pit rescue groups with pits from MDC.  But that's just MHO based on friends in pit rescue who go out of their way to save dogs in areas with BSL and is anecdotal.

erica1989

This thread is about how to stop BSL in FL.

Back to the original topic.  I found in some articles that PETA was in favor of this law. Suprise, Suprise.

 See: http://www.miamiherald.com/458/story/448720.html

What a shocker... PETA supporting baning of pets. I never saw that one coming!

(total sarcasm, for those that didn't catch it....)

BCMixs

don't believe they are routinely euthanized at the door.  No evidence to support that statement has been given

This is an old article granted but it still outlines what happens when a PB enters the shelter.

http://www.sharpeiforums.com/stories/see-spot-die.asp

Not so the pit bull pup from the park: As with all pit bulls that enter the shelter, his card was stamped NOT ADOPTABLE. It was a death sentence.