Breed-specific legislation (BSL) banning or restricting dogs based on breed or physical appearance has been widely adopted as a public safety measure — but evidence consistently shows it is ineffective and causes significant welfare harm to the dogs it targets.
Breed-specific legislation causes welfare harm to thousands of dogs annually through prolonged shelter confinement and euthanasia of animals judged by appearance rather than behaviour. The dogs subject to BSL — many of which are gentle, socialised animals with no history of aggression — experience the terror of seizure, prolonged kennel stress, and often death, without having committed any act that warrants it. The evidence that BSL does not reduce dog bites makes this welfare harm entirely without justification. Behaviour-based approaches that target individual dogs with demonstrated aggression regardless of breed are both more effective and far less harmful.