Lucky for me I get to share a new project that’s very important to me, at the same time as I lament that such a project is needed.

Dogs In Society is a new stakeholder group made up of experienced dog behaviour professionals and educators. I and some colleagues have been brought together on this because of the Irish government’s plans to enact breed-banning legislation…starting next month.

There is very little information available about how this legislation will be applied and we are troubled by the bringing forth of legislation based on flawed rationales. Our concerns include:

– Reactionary response and haste with which breed-banning legislation has been considered and written:

• insufficient time to conduct due diligence
• modelling legislation on a similar ban in the UK which has been shown to be ineffective, expensive, was enacted with disregard for considerable expert advice and is currently being challenged in the High Court
• absence of discourse involving veterinarians and without consideration from Veterinary Ireland, whose members are largely opposed to BSL

-Lacking clarity in rationale for decision making, that is clearly ignoring the valid evidence:

• lacking planning in enacting and training local authorities and stakeholders in enforcing this legislation

–Questions about the integrity of the conclusions and guidance provided by the working group

• no report has been made publicly available, but legislation has been written
• BSL position statements published by several participating organisations oppose banning and expansions to BSL
• representatives from at least two of the member organisations, of this working group, have made public statements in national media and on social media in which they have promoted erroneous information, sensationalised canine behaviour in favouring the targeting of a poorly defined type of dog and stating an agreement with the actions of the Minister in bringing this legislation forth.
  We have screen grabs, transcripts, and recordings as evidence of these public statements.
  These disparities highlight a lack of transparency on behalf of this working group, and apparently, a lack of understanding of the core issues. 
• local authority vet made representations for Veterinary Ireland on RTE 6pm News (6pm News, 05/06/2024) with statements and recommendations in direct contravention to the position held by Veterinary Ireland, and who has been central in writing this legislation

In short, BSL is based on erroneous rationale, that behaviour and safety can be predicted via morphological characteristics, and, despite being enacted here since 1998, the rate of bite incidents continues to rise. It is a blunt instrument that provides an all but superficial pretence that action is being taken, while deflecting from the complexity and nuance of the issues at hand.

As such, breed specific legislation blinds stakeholders to meaningful alternatives that are evidence based, and suggests that only the behaviour of targeted dog-types warrants care. With effective legislation and community supports in place, alternatives to breed-focused mandates can facilitate ongoing data collection to enable appropriate adjustments in response to evolving societal trends.

Download our fully referenced and evidence based Position on BSL (Breed Specific Legislation) and please share with others, including policy makers. Please share!!

While we have been working for months contacting politicians, councillors, professionals and rescues, we understand that this ban is happening. Our energy must be devoted to helping and supporting those affected by this short-sighted legislation.

Although no process has been made public, we do know that exempted dogs will need to be muzzled. This is already the current state of legislation for dogs who look like this but, just in case, we want to support guardians in preparing their dogs.

Muzzle training is an important skill for all dogs and can be a fun teaching project for you and your dog.

Download our Muzzle Love tutorial handout and please do share with others too!

Here’s a quick video demo tutorial (linked from the handout too, along with other resources):

How you can help us help more dogs:

• follow @dogs_in_society on social media, engage with and share our posts
• tell your friends!
• share our resources
• legislation, particularly BSL ain’t going to improve safety, education, guidance and support will…think education, guidance and support rather than blame or shame
• send anyone with questions or concerns about BSL, about dog behaviour, about “these dogs”, to us and we will help them without judgement
• we will have some more resources available soon including the DIS Pledge that will focus on messaging and community focused guardianship…look out for that coming soon!