Essay Example on An estimated 480 000 bull breeds are euthanized each Year

An estimated 480 000 bull breeds are euthanized each year in US shelters This is 40 of the 1 2 million dogs killed in shelters each year Known as malicious aggressive monsters in some people's eyes and gentle nanny dogs to others the American Pit Bull Terrier is one of the most misunderstood dog breeds in the world With many countries such as Germany and England even having a complete ban on the animals altogether Why does this breed have such a bad rap And does it really deserve this reputation The American Pit Bull Terrier was recognized as it's own breed in the 1860 s by the United Kennel Club Despite popular belief these dogs were indeed bred for one purpose at the time the blood sport of dogfighting Which at the time was perfectly legal and a well known sport The APBT was bred to be highly aggressive with other dogs In the earlier days of the UKC United Kennel Club it was common practice for dogs to fight during dog shows to show their gameness towards other dogs it was considered a fault if the dogs were not willing to engage with other dogs in the ring 

It wasn t until a rise in animal advocacy that this sport was frowned upon in the US This was done away with in the early twenties by the UKC Yet many Pit Bull breeders and dogman continued to legally fight their dogs for nearly fifty years It wasn t until the seventies that animal rights advocates began fighting for a countrywide ban on dogfighting At the same time the stigma against the breed began to change Because of the fact dogmen and their dogs were being undercovered all over the county people had a misunderstanding that all of these dogs were bloodthirsty human haters When in fact human aggression was and still is a huge fault in the American Pit Bull Terrier world In the days of dogfighting any dogs that showed signs of human aggression were killed by their dogman In this sport it was very important that a dogman was able to enter the ring with his dog and not worry about it of a fellow dogman s dog redirecting onto them It was at this same point in time when people began being more aware of bull breeds and because of the fear centered around dogfighting dogs this caused many people to report attacks from pit bulls when in fact the dogs they were attacked by were not APBT Today finding a purebred APBT is rather hard to come by but yet there are thousands of dogs being called Pit Bulls euthanized every year There is a wide range of bull breed commonly mistaken as Pit Bulls including but not limited to Staffordshire Bull Terriers Boxers Dogo Argentinos American Staffordshire Terriers American Bullies American Bulldogs and most commonly mix breed dogs Because there are so many dogs often mislabeled as Pit Bulls it causes the bite statistics to be far higher in this breed than in others Think of it this way in a year there were 2 American Pit Bull Terrier bites 5 American Bully bites 1 Staffordshire Terrier bite and 107 bull breed mix bites Instead of each of these dogs going under their own breed they are all tossed into the Pit Bull category That means there would be 115 bites put on the APBT when they in fact only bit two people 

The misrepresentation of this breed is what is causing so many dogs to be unjustly killed every year It is why people cannot own bull breed type dogs in many cities and it is why good dogs are being ripped from their homes for no good reason Many of the dogs called Pit Bulls killed in shelters every year are in fact just mix breeds Dogs are determined to be Pit Bulls by looks or a series of measurements taken on the dog when oftentimes these measurements aren't even what the breed standard for APBT is The public is widely misinformed about these dogs by animal rights activists vets backyard breeders and common dog owners It is so hard to find facts on true APBT due to the fact there are so many sides to the breed so many people that think different things Unless you have a way into the dog world it is hard to find the real facts about this breed due to the fact it is buried by so much propaganda from them being little angels to them being baby killers This hated breed and breeds similar to it are amazing diverse dogs with a bad rap due to rumors started nearly fifty years ago It is a breed that truly needs the truth about it uncovered so people can see the real side of the APBT and other bull breeds similar to it Maybe if people knew more about these breeds less of them would be killed annually