Munier's buddy came to ask for some dog advice the other day.
He said his father-in-law was considering getting a pit bull for the backyard.
“Get a pit bull and I’ll never bring your grandkids to the house ever again,” he warned his toppie. Just like that.
Even though he was adamant about it, he still asked Munier if pit bulls are “as bad as the media makes them out to be”.
So Munier did a bit of research, scanned the news archives and got back to him.
What he could confirm was that the Daily Voice has reported on about 30 stories of pit bull attacks in the past three years.
It’s worth noting here that these were only incidents reported in the Voice.
And these were only attacks by pit bulls - not Alsations, Rottweilers, Dobermans or other breeds.
Now, there is no scientific evidence to conclude that these dogs are naturally more aggressive or dangerous than any other breed.
But did you know that in England and Wales, 15 fatal dog attacks were recorded between 1981 and 1991?
And a direct result of this was that both the ownership and breeding of pit bulls was banned?
This became known as the Dangerous Dogs Act of 1991.
Pit bulls are also banned in New Zealand, Brazil, Belgium, Canada, France, Finland, Denmark, Poland, Norway, and Puerto Rico, by the way.
Why are we talking about this?
Well, this week deputy chairperson of the Elsies River community policing forum, Imraahn Mukaddam, came under fire for saying pet owners should be held liable for their dogs’ actions.
“The Animal Behaviour Amendment Act of 1993 has provisions for prosecuting on negligence to secure dangerous animals, it is an old act that is still valid, but is very rarely used,” he said.
This after Mukaddam helped Philipo Vosisin who was mauled by two pit bulls at a house in Elsies River last week.
On social media, dog owners snarled at the CPF man, saying he’s the one that should be muzzled.
And there was a chorus of voices, chanting: Don’t blame the dog, it’s how the owners raise and train them.
Allan Perrins of the Animal Welfare Society of South Africa agreed that it was time the Animal Behaviour Act was more stringently enforced, and that negligent owners should be prosecuted.
Honestly, Munier doesn’t see the problem here.
It seems everyone - from dog owners to the authorities and the victims - is in agreement about this.
The owners MUST be held responsible for their dogs’ actions - whether it be pit bulls or any other breed.
If the owners stand to be locked up, surely they’ll do more to ensure their dogs are secured, and that there’s less risk of vicious attacks. Right?
However, if this measure does not help to significantly reduce attacks on innocent people, then we should seriously consider banning the dogs altogether.