A farmer was forced to shoot the escaped dogs as they terrorised his defenceless livestock
Two escaped dogs savaged a flock of pregnant sheep, killing 22 and injuring another 48, before the out-of-control American XL bulldogs were shot. A farmer turned his gun on the pair of escaped animals that subjected his livestock to a brutal attack on a Welsh farm.
The financial cost of the incident, including the numerous deaths and injuries, amounted to more than £14,000.
The owner of the two dogs – David Hughes, 26, of Pen y Wern, Rhosllanerchrugog – appeared at Wrexham Magistrates’ Court where he admitted being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control and being the owner of a dog worrying livestock. Hughes was banned from keeping dogs for five years and ordered to pay £900 in fines.
Yeah they do not look anything like what I expected them to be, definitely pitbulls and this doesn't surprise me in the least that they killed sheep. They're just dangerous dogs.
Because there is demand for it. Ban this breed and the demand does not go away, it will just switch to a new breed that isn't banned as its done before.
The way that they define dog breeds on the list is pretty shit as well, especially when a simple cross breed can circumvent it (have a look at how many pittie crosses can be picked up from dog rehoming centres) and the police don't get involved until the dogs already gone too far.
License the breeders, sell only neutered and chipped dogs unless to another licensed breeders, and make the breeders responsible for the dog to match an agreed healthy standard for the breed with aggressive and unhealthy breeds being bred out of existence.
Sure, there will always be unlicensed breeders but use big fines to enable the RSPCA and vets to actually enforce it. Granted it will take up to 15 years from implementation to really kick in but just adding yet another dog to the list is just not working.
The problem about selling only neutered dogs is that larger breeds (labradors, Newfoundland's, boxers) need to hit maturity before being fixed to ensure proper growth and prevent future health issues. This can be up to 3 years.
Definitely not feasible when a bitch has a litter of 10 puppies that need to be kept for 3 years before being sold to their new homes.
I'm afraid that's an old wives tale, up there with not being able to spay a bitch until after their first period. Its owner preference as there are different health and behavior benefits doing it early or late, or somewhere in the middle.
Personally I would set it at 6 to 12 months, you do not want dogs leaving the mother too young and you need time to spot some of the behavior/health issues.
We have far too many dogs in the UK, just ask any dog rehoming centre, this is in part to massively reduce that problem while improving the health and behaviors of all dogs.
I'd love to see the studies if you have some links. My opinion was formed on a Cochrane analysis of several longitudinal studies for cancer specifically in bitches by breed, so anything I can add to my research would be appreciated.