What is BSL?

BSL stands for breed specific legislation, also known as breed discriminatory legislation or breed specific policies, or any other combination of the same sentiment. Wording aside, it is legislation that places restrictions on certain dogs simply due to their breed (or more often than not, whatever breed they look like).

According to the ASPCA, over 700 U.S. cities have breed-specific legislation enacted, including our own Prince George’s County. These types of policies can range from housing restrictions, insurance complications, required muzzling, leashing regulations, and even complete bans from jurisdictions.

However, these policies have been renounced by a number of authorities in the field. The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, the National Animal Care and Control Association , and the American Veterinary Medical Association, to name a few, have all published position statements opposing the use of BSL due to a number of studies both in the US and abroad that have shown these policies to be both very costly and ineffective in achieving their intended goal of reducing violent dog-human interactions. Both the American Veterinary Society for Animal Behavior and American Veterinary Medical Association state that any dog can bite regardless of breed and that individual factors, like socialization and proper training, are much more important than breed.

There have also been legal challenges to such policies, with the American Bar Association publishing a resolution stating that breed-specific legislation is a violation of the 14th amendment due to the complicated nature of accurate breed identification and the resulting arbitrary nature of enforcement.

This website enumerates the flaws in both the reasoning and practice of breed-specific legislation as well as provides some guidance on actual, evidence-based solutions to reduce violent dog-human interactions.