Pit Bull Owners Start Their Own Petition To Protect Their Beloved Pets, SA Is Torn: “Heartbreaking Both Ways”

• The owners of pit bulls are standing up for their pets and have started their own online petition called Do Not Ban Pit bulls
• The petition has 38 signatures so far, and pet owners claim thoroughbred pit bulls are not responsible for attacking people
• South Africans online weighed in on the issue and shared mixed opinions on banning pit bulls as domestic animals

At least 38 people have signed a counter online petition to fight against banning pit bulls in the country. The dog breed has grabbed headlines following the recent attacks and killings of young children.

Lee-Ann van Staden started the Do Not Ban Pitbulls petition and mentioned that there's nothing wrong with pit bulls, and dog owners should be blamed on a Live on change.org.

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Mbasa Nyegane, who owns three pit bulls, spoke to News 24 and said that crossbreeds are responsible for the attacks on humans. He said those dogs look similar to American pit bull terriers, which are thoroughbred.

According to The Witness, the Sizwe Kupelo Foundation asked the government with a petition signed by 37 000 people to put a ban on the dog breed. This was after a little 10-year-old was mauled to death by two pit bulls in Gelvandale, Gqeberha.

The Pit Bull Federation of South Africa was in agreement with Nyengane and their spokesperson Lehanda Rheeder said:

"Gone are the days where the majority of these dogs were of safe known origin. Gone are the times where dogs were selectively bred and only placed with knowledgeable owners."

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Rheeder encouraged parents to be cautious with their small children and not leave the unattended with any dog.

"Dogs do not possess the mental capacity to 'protect' a child and they lack mental capacity to feel remorse. It is unfair to demand this from them."

Some comments from South Africans on the pit bull issue:

@ScripturalWon said:

"If you have a pit pull within the confines of your property, please keep it and secure it so that it doesn't enter the public domain. When it comes out into the public domain and hurts someone, then it's a big problem."

@Mickey120710 mentioned:

"It is not the breed that is dangerous it is the dog's owner that is dangerous. If they are trained right, they will not attack. If they are treated right, they will not attack."

@FedixM posted:

"Pit bulls must be banned."

@Will87381663 shared:

"I love pit bulls. I had two, and I never had a problem with them. They were the sweetest dogs I ever had."

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@reterblanche wrote:

"Heartbreaking both ways."

Anti-pit bull foundation says the dogs should not be kept as pets, calls for castration and sterilisation

In related stories, Briefly News reported an anti-pit bull foundation is calling for a ban on the domestication of pit bulls in South Africa.

The Sizwe Kupelo Foundation urges the South African government to chemically castrate all male pit bulls and sterilise females to curb the breeding of the "deadly' dogs.

Source: Briefly News