Savage maulings spark heated debate over large dog breed restrictions

There are renewed calls to place ownership restrictions on all large dog breeds, after three horrifying maulings within just days of each other.

Earlier this year the Queensland government banned five dog breeds and toughened penalties for dog owners who own a dog that has attacked others. Picture: Wikicommons

There are renewed calls to expand the list of restricted dog breeds and require extensive training for potential dog owners, after three horrifying maulings happened in the span of days.

On Wednesday, a pet dog was mauled to death while on a walk in Carindale, in Melbourne, a woman was left fighting for her life after being mauled by three dogs on Thursday and just yesterday a large dog viciously tore its owner’s arm off in Townsville.

Under current legislation, the only restricted breeds are Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro, Japanese Tosa, American Pit Bull Terrier and Presa Canario. As it stands there is no central database logging dog attacks on humans, pets, or wildlife.

On Reddit commenters have said legislation around dog ownership should be discussed on a state level, with some suggesting the topic should become an “election issue.”

“It’s not something I personally feel particularly strongly about, but I’m open to hearing discussion on it at a state level. I think there’s an argument to be made that some breeds have a tendency to be more anxious and aggressive, which doesn’t mix well if the breed is also large enough to cause grievous damage if they felt inclined to,” one commenter wrote.

Another commenter said breed bans won’t necessarily prevent attacks.

Annmarie Walters, 34, had her arm severed in an attack by her pitbull on Friday. Picture: Supplied.

“Dumbasses want a cool strong guard dog breed they can neglect and turn aggressive. Right now the popular breeds for this are the pit bull and the staffy. Ban them and they’ll just buy rotties and german shepherds instead. Ban those too and even the precious labradors and retrievers will seem violent as more dumbasses buy them,” they wrote.

“The same breeds attack because the owners want those bad breeds, and then reinforce the stereotype. Stricter laws around dog ownership will do far more to prevent these incidents than breed bans.”

On Facebook people are torn, with some saying larger breeds should require additional training and be subject to more restrictions than those who own smaller dogs.

“People get big, toothy, mussley dogs for a reason. It’s no use telling everybody how gentle they are. If they really wanted ‘gentle’, they would have picked a dachshund or shitzu,” Mark Huppert wrote.

Susana Markusic Dugec agreed, stating that certain dogs should require muzzles when outside of the home.

“These dogs need to be banned, or muzzled. Muzzles should only be removed to feed them, and then put back on,” she said.

But despite the support for further legislation, many have said the owners should be more accountable.

“I have only ever had bull bred dogs never once had an issue with aggressive behaviour towards humans, but will admit a couple didn’t mind a scrap, blame the owner not the dog, training from a young age is what is required any dog will bite given the right circumstances,” Eddie Joyce said.

“I am sorry but it is not the dogs fault. Dogs are always being blamed for these attacks and I am sorry but it comes down to the owners, how the owners trained the dog or did not train the dog,” another commenter said.

Tell us what you think.

Originally published as Savage maulings spark heated debate over large dog breed restrictions