California City Hopes to Curb Pit Bull Attacks with New Law

The city of Manteca, California, has passed a new law saying that if you own a pit bull breed you either have to get it fixed, qualify as a legitimate breeder of pit bulls or risk being charged with a crime or having the dog destroyed. According to a news article in the Manteca Bulletin, the law, which takes effect in October, was a reaction to a series of seven vicious dog attacks in Manteca. A majority of those dog attacks involved pit bull breeds.

California law prohibits local municipal ordinances from banning breeds of dogs. But it does allow breeds to be regulated including requiring them to be spayed and neutered. According to the newly passed law in Manteca, the first violation would result in the city impounding the pit bull and disposing of it in accordance with the municipal ordinance. The second offense is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in county jail for a period not to exceed six months and a fine of up to $1,000.

According to a report released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), pit bulls and rottweilers accounted for more than 70 percent of dog attack fatalities in the United States between the years 1979 and 1996. This report clearly shows that when it comes to dangerous dog breeds, pit bulls and rottweilers really do lead the pack. Breed bans are illegal in California and an extremely sensitive issue in this country.

But what the city of Manteca has done helps strike the middle ground in helping those who want to own pit bulls own the animals while taking responsibility for their ownership. Many cities and counties in California and elsewhere in the nation have also recently passed vicious dog laws, which impose a lot of limitations of dogs that have prior history of attacking other animals or human beings.

These laws are necessary not only to prevent dog attacks, but also to keep our neighborhoods safe and injury-free. But that said, remember that 4 million people in this country are injured by dog bites in the United States. Be wary of all dogs – not just pit bulls and rottweilers. If you know of a vicious or dangerous dog in your neighborhood report it to your local animal control agency.

candice box says:

December 31, 1969 at 6:00 pm

I dont believe this is gonna do very much to help the problem, because the problem isnt the dog its the owner of the dog!! Also 90+% of the dogs that are attacking or acting in a mean way are ownered and or breed by lower class americans which not only dont have to funds to fix the dog but also dont spend the time with the animal to make the dog even know write from wrong and with this law california is only wasting more money on voting form this aswell as all the extra cost it will now cost to impund, feed, vet, or even put to sleep these dogs because the people that are causeing the problem dont have to funds to care for the animal so most likley the animal wount make it out of the shelter!!! Im a proud owner of 4 lovley pitbulls im not saying all pitbulls are good or bad all im saying is they only know what we show them and anybody that has pitbulls and loves there dog and takes care of the dog will tell you a pitbull is one of the most loving hard working do anything for there person type of dog and at some point if the pitbull is ever band it will just happen again in time but only with a different breed because its never been the dpg its always been the peoples fault… also to anybody that dosnt know much about the breed should look it up before judging it and or going out a geting one if you look in the news paper and you see (pitbulls 4 sale) thats a red flag to anybody that would ever want to owner/buy this type of dog the reason is theres no such thing as a pitbull only backyard mutt breeders would ever call here dog that if you want a well breed dog you would want to get an american staff pitbull or an american pitbull terrior those dogs adverticed this was are more likley to have papers aswell be a well behaved dog in general…. and last but not least i do understand that pitbulls have attacked people and even killed people but at least 50% of dog attacks that have happend have been faulsy blamed on the breed do to many things such as being another breed that looks like a pitbull but isnt or somebody that isnt qualified ed, to detemin the real breed of the dog!! Exp the woman a few years ago killed in her san fransico apt hall way this attack was blaimed on pitbulls and nerver corrected that it the two attacking dogs were not pitbulls but infact a breed that looks just like a pitbull the same body look even cropped ears only its a larger dog then the pitbull!!!!!! we as people owe it to the animals to ed the people that are causeing this mess….

Eric says:

Hello John,

John Everymann says:

You ever hear of punctuation Candice? I am the proud owner of three bully`s. Who all get along just fine with each other, Recently my youngest got out, attacked another dog. I have carried that little girl around everywhere, since she was a pup. But still? Some dogs like humans are born with aggressive behavior.

Cynthia says:

As stated “some dogs like humans are born with aggressive behavior” but what if that behavior become rampant? We are a victim of 2 incident here by our neighpor’s pitbull. What do you do about then?