Breed Specific Legislation Had No Effect on Dog Bites in Odense, Denmark
In 2010, Denmark banned 13 breeds of dog. It made no difference to hospitalizations for dog bites. Photo: sanjagrujic/Shutterstock One approach that some countries or municipalities take to attempt to reduce injuries from dog bites is to ban certain breeds, known as Breed Specific Legislation (BSL). A new study by Dr. Finn Nilson (Karlstad University) et al investigates the effects of BSL in Denmark’s third-largest city, Odense. The results show that it had no effect on hospitalizations for dog bites. In 2010, Denmark banned the ownership, breeding and import of 13 breeds of dog , including the American Staffordshire Terrier, the Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasiliero and American Bulldog. Two of those breeds, the Pitbull Terrier and the Tosa Inu, had to be euthanized. Any existing pets of the remaining 11 breeds could be kept, but they had to be muzzled and leashed in public. Dr. Finn Nilson told me in an email, “The findings in our article largely support previous studies on the subje...