13 July 2000



E-Group Outrage over German Dog Laws

The power of the internet to raise global awareness of animal rights issues is currently being demonstrated by the flurry of activity in a newly set up e-group with the disturbing name of 'Dogholocaust'.

German states are in the process of enacting specific legislation attempting to ban breeds that have been labeled as "fighting dogs."

The e-mail discussion group which was opened on the ninth of July in response to this tightening of state law has already attracted 248 members and generated more than 700 e-mails.

The activists who started the group and the many who have since rallied to them have wasted very little time making their joint voices heard. Numerous petition based web-sites have been set up and hundreds of letters sent to German central and state government offices.

Politicians' web-site noticeboards such as that of Green Party rep Barbara Hoehn have been inundated with messages demanding a repeal of what are being described as draconian restrictive dog laws.

How did this come about?

In April a pit bull owned by a convicted criminal attacked someone, the owner was ordered to keep it leashed and muzzled in public places, he ignored this order and it killed a child. The dog was shot and the owner arrested and jailed.

The media response instigated a public backlash. Various assaults occurred, recently a girl walking her bull terrier in Berlin was attacked, beaten and doused in petrol, the bull terrier was burned to death;

In response to public pressure the Federal State of Hessen published new harsh legislation banning and increasing restrictions on certain so called 'fighting' breeds. Other states are following.

According to the Save Our Breeds web-site:

"The entire country of Germany has officially banned the following breeds: Pitbull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier and the Staffordshire Terrier. Those now in the country can be exported out. Any dogs that remain, must take a state run 'temperament' test."

Public Relations Redefined?

The ability of single issue groups to get their voices heard has been hugely advanced by the internet. The recently launched attack on a number of well known pet food companies by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) was given coverage in the trade press because of the effectiveness of the BUAV's on-line campaign.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) regularly invoke media-wide responses because their voice is being heard by many more people on the internet than ever before.

It is becoming more and more difficult for corporate public relations officers to convince their public that all such groups can be lumped together under the heading of 'cranky activists'. In future they will need to work harder than that.

Pet food companies in particular need to learn to cooporate more fully with new on-line media groups. After all in this brave new world it is almost always they who are the first to warn the public about archaic practices and new dangers.

The pet trade media needs to realise that their reporting is on public view and not just open to scrutiny by those with an interest in the industry. Thus there is no longer room for their doggedly defensive British Bulldog role, (apologies to Bulldogs). In the context of the internet this just feels like propaganda.

At the moment the cacophony of the Dogholocaust e-group seems confused and without direction, a firework display that German state governments may hope to ride out.

In the near future however, astute and well networked groups and individuals will learn to harness this energy and channel it like a well directed fire hose at exactly the right targets - then those PR departments with their heads in the sand are surely going to get wet bottoms.

Related Sites:

egroups.com/messages/DogHolocaust
saveourbreeds.org.uk
workingdogs.com
www.baerbel-hoehn.de
dogholocaust/legislation