A week ago I was contacted by a member of the "For the Love of Dogs" group regarding her being visited by Animal Control officials for the Town of Paradise. She recently bought a house in Paradise and this day her dog (who is a pit bull) got off leash, went into a neighbour's yard to play with the neighbour's bull terrier. In the time it was off, a resident had called and made a report that there was a roaming pit bull. She was visited by the officials and notified that according to section 11 of the Animal Control Regulations for the Town of Paradise states that
"No person shall keep a Pit Bull Terrier on any land or in any building in the Town".
She was obviously very upset and nervous regarding what might occur. She has since sought advice on the matter and is waiting for the town officials to get back to her on this.
When she posted about her experience on the group, many people were shocked. They had no idea that BSL existed in Newfoundland. Many were outraged that a by law like this was in place and many wanted to do something about it.
I decided to start a petition regardless of the outcome of the discussion and am looking to do a protest in an effort to get this archaic law rescinded. Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) does not work. It accomplishes nothing and is an uneducated knee jerk reaction that does not address any issues correctly. Please visit the link below and sign my petition.
Paradise is a beautiful growing town. It's animal control legislation should reflect this.
Ban the deed, not the breed and encourage responsible pet ownership.
PETITION TO RESCIND BSL IN THE TOWN OF PARADISE
Update: 2013.06.24: the ban has officially been lifted and the laws updated. This one was a long time coming and it is great to see the town officials recognise how ineffective this archaic law is. Thank you for listening to reason and fact and bringing the new legislation into being. Job well done Paradise.