What is a breed-specific law (BSL)?
A breed-specific law is a type of dangerous dog law. It is defined as any ordinance or policy that pertains to a specific dog breed or breeds, but does not affect any others. Proponents of breed-specific law seek to limit public exposure to dangerous dogs by regulating ownership of these breeds. The basis of breed-specific law is that through regulation, future attacks can be prevented. Dangerous dog laws that are non breed-specific punish a dog owner after an attack and subsequently leave new victims in their wake. The trend in the U.S. and throughout the world is to regulate a class of dogs that have a genetic propensity toward violence so that first attacks by them can be avoided. First attacks by pit bulls, for instance, almost always result in severe injury.
