“One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws”. Martin Luther King
Last week the Government ordered the rounding and locking up in shelters of all pitbulls in the country. As usual, the Government, when dealing with something that cannot understand it chose the easy way out. Lock it or kill it.
Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) are policies that ban or otherwise target certain dog breeds. Those laws are often passed under the guise of protecting citizens and preventing dog bites. Instead, these laws are ineffective, expensive-to-enforce, and punish responsible people and innocent dogs.
Today, just as we were going to send a post to the public asking everybody to reject this law we have been notified that the Regulation has been cancelled due to popular outrage!. This is yet another example of how social media can be used for social change. Nothing like this would have happened in stuffy bureaucratic Turkey hadn’t it been because of the role played by Facebook and Twitter in rallying citizens and creating a wave of indignation.
Here is what would happen if such a law went into place.
1. Dogs would go into hiding
Let’s Adopt! would urge its members and all dog owners not to relinquish their animals.
2. Good owners and dogs, not criminals, are punished
If the government thought that this action would stop illegal gambling on dog fights they are clearly ignorant of the nature of the criminal mind. This would only make matters worst. When was the last time a criminal followed instructions to avoid a fine! Thinking they will do so is ridiculous.
Instead this law created panic amongst responsible owners. It is those good owners and those dogs that would have been punished.
3. Contrary to the belief of those who wanted to enforce this ban, the dogs most involved in betting fights in Turkey are not pitbulls, but kangals!
The Kangal is Turkey’s national breed. A source of pride that is used and abused like no other in this country.
The government should dedicate it’s resources to educate the population about responsible ownership and to prosecute criminals, not to terrorize and hunt down good dog owners and their dogs.
What is the appropriate response to an unjust law such as this one? Martin Luther King and other world leaders argued that we should break it openly: “An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust and who willingly accepts the penalty in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law”.
So.. the citizens complained and threatened civil disobedience.. the law was sent back. A victory for the dogs!
Today the poor dogs of Turkey have something to celebrate for a change.
Excellent. About time this outdated Breed Specific Law was repealed. There are no bad dogs, only bad owners.
“So.. the citizens complained and threatened civil disobedience.. the law was sent back. A victory for the dogs! Today the poor dogs of Turkey have something to celebrate for a change.”
YES!
i feel anybody who fights any dog is just trying to make themselves feel more like men. i did not watch the whole video because i figured the way that, what was he, a referee, walked around and started them over again. what happened to the dogs. are you proud dog owners. what does the loser get a good swift kick or maybe a beating. with the mentality of these people anything is possible. you need educating about responsible animal ownership and not fighting dogs for fun and probably money~~DOG FIGHTING IS A SPORT FOR COWARDS!!!!!
is great that this stupid law was sent back!
what a great victory for all those who love thier animals and hate injustice, just shows what can happen if enough people stand up and fight against something as cruel and unjust as this law!!!
Great news!
The magic word is : all pull together ( together ) !!!
I’m totally against breed-specific legislation. I’ve helped fight this in America, and I’m very glad this was defeated in Turkey.
What I would like to see, however, are well-enforced leash laws and fines for dogs that are wearing poor-fitting collars or weak leashes inside the city limits.
In my neighborhood, the dogs with the poor-fitting collars, or dogs that walk loose, all happen to be Pit Bulls. While I have never met any Pits that were unfriendly with humans, I have met many that are happy to do what they are bred for–fighting other dogs to the death.
There are 3-4 pet unneutered male Pit Bulls that walk in the same area where I walk my dog. One owner walks his dog completely off-leash, with his dog running 50m ahead of him. (Luckily, I’ve never run into this dog when I have my dog with me). Two other local Pit owners use such loose collars that the dog could simple take one step backwards to escape. The “loose collar” trend appears to be a huge fashion amongst Pit owners here. Often, the owner is using a big padlocked piece of chain that is strong enough to pull a train. The “weak link” is that the chain is twice as big around as the dog’s neck! There’s also a Kangal I’ve seen here that’s walked on a piece of string. This inadequate equipment would be a problem with any breed of dog, but I do think it’s extra dangerous to have a it on dogs who are heavy, muscular, bred to fight, and owned by ignorant people who have bought the dog in the first place because they want a macho, aggressive “protection dog.”
I’d like to see some ALL-BREED legislation about using leashes within the city limits (outside dog parks, of course); and fines for improperly fitted collars and inadequate leashes. This also applies to people who are too young/weak/small/elderly to control the size of dog they are walking–they will need particularly good equipment. And please people… do not let your 10-year old child hold the leash of a big, strong, aroused dog–I don’t care whether it’s a Golden or a Kangal.
I just reread my post, and I don’t think it was clear.
What I wanted to say is that I think the proposed law was a reaction to the fact that many Pit Bull owners in Istanbul walk their dogs off-leash or with those huge collars that are easy for the dog to escape from. If there was a law where ALL BREEDS must have adequate, fitted, collars & leashes, I think a lot fewer people would be scared of–and try to ban–Pit Bulls.
No one have the right of getting our friends from us and pittbulls in my country havent biten anyone.On the other hand dear Sharon I dont think that any dog would ”just runaway from collars and bite someone”.Biting is a way of protecting theirself so probably who is biten by pittbull was annoying the dog.If you train your puppy well you do not even need a colar even with that Kangals which i had one when i was young who was taking care of me as a mom!!!! if i had a yard in my house i would probably get one pittbull or kangal since im living in a small apartment i only take care of a cat but i am planing to have one when I move to a bigger house 🙂
It doesn’t only punish responsible owners, but also add to already overloaded shelters which inturn just wind up killing the dog.