One of the reasons it is so hard to change the way society treats and regards animals is because the people in positions to implement changes or influence public opinion are completely uninformed and/or biased. Boston was just able to pass legislation prohibiting breed specific regulation- meaning dogs could not be categorized as dangerous or be subject to stricter regulations simply because of their breed (like pit bulls). Now the Mayor of Boston is “vowing to resurrect the pit bull muzzling rule and working to press for more legislation that will deal with pit bulls in the city of Boston” claiming that “they do need a special law…pit bulls have that little strain in them that are vicious”.
It is truly disturbing to hear comments like these. What evidence does the Mayor have of this? Where is the scientific research supporting his claim that “they have that little strain in them that are vicious”?..there isn’t any. Pit bulls are one of the sweetest and good natured breeds out there. They have been unfairly labeled as dangerous as the result of isolated acts of aggression by individual dogs. There is nothing inherently more violent about pit bulls than other dogs, a reality that some people don’t understand. People hear the OPINIONS of someone else, such as a city mayor, and take it as truth assuming that he must know what he is talking about given who he is or because of the position he holds.
Does anyone else have a problem with this? Just because a mayor says something, something he is completely unqualified to speak about to begin with, does not make it true. Misinformation is so dangerous, especially when it is propagated by persons in power. It is because of people like this that getting laws passed on behalf of animals is so difficult and why people who work to promote animal welfare face so much adversity.