14 August 2000

'Holocaust' Update

The so called DogHolocaust campaign over the move by German states enacting specific legislation attempting to ban breeds that have been labeled as 'fighting dogs', appears to be gathering support. On 13 July we reported the beginnings of the campaign in the e-mail discussion group: egroups.com/messages/DogHolocaust Since then German MEPs have been attempting to extend the ban on certain breeds, including Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Rhodesian Ridgebacks and English Mastiffs, to the rest of the European Union. Now, following a flood of letters and e-mails from constituents, Scottish Tory MEP, Struan Stevenson, has said that action is needed to stop the ban. "We need to act quickly to prevent the inclusion of [Staffordshire Bull Terriers], and indeed other wholly 'innocent' breeds such as the Old English Mastiff and the Rhodesian Ridgeback, in the proposed dangerous dogs legislation," he said. According to a report forwarded by Sarah Hemstock of the National Terrier Club, talking about the Hessen legislation (the German state leading the ban), word has it that the original list of 16 dangerous breeds is going to be reduced to a shorter list of 3-5. The report also makes this appeal: "It appears that the doggy legislation in Hessen is currently being reworked due to heavy public pressure." "To ensure that the Staffordshire Bullterrier is not a member of that select group, please send some reminders to the Minister (minister@hmdi.hessen.de) Volker Bouffier." The DogHolocaust egroup now has 365 members