Aussies Hit Back At Calls To Ban American Staffies And Say The Breed Is Beautiful

Australians are furious over calls to ban American Staffordshire terriers from the country.

A grassroots online campaign has been launched to get rid of the breed after two seperate mauling incidents left a five-week-old baby dead and a pet dog on the verge of death.

However, loads of people have hit back at the assumption the breed is inherently dangerous and allege it's all down to how the owner raises the dog.

One person wrote on Facebook: "I think rather than banning these breeds, we need to start looking at the owners of the 'killer dog' & holding them accountable.

"Clearly it's a representation on the owners not the breed otherwise EVERY single dog of this breed would act up."

Another added: "Breed has nothing to do with it. Like people, there are good and bad individuals. A LOT comes down to training and conditioning.

"That means it's the fault of the owner, not the dog. Stop vilifying breeds. Start looking at the owners."

A third said: "I don't think this has anything to do with what breed it was. Dogs shouldn't pay for humans negligence. The dog that was mauled was in the other dogs yard and should have been under its owners control."

When you look at the figures, it doesn't paint a very good picture for American staffies.

The breed ranks the highest in terms of number of attacks within New South Wales, with nearly 900 incidents in 15 months, according to the ABC.

It's believed these attacks are on both humans and animals.

The NSW Central Coast also tops the state for the region with the largest number of attacks, which is where the five-week-old baby was mauled to death.

Emergency services were called to the Kariong home after the six-year-old dog attacked the baby over the weekend.

The dog had already been reported a month earlier for bad behaviour and on this occasion it managed to get into the backyard of another person's home.

A spokesperson for Central Coast Council told 7NEWS.com.au: "Rangers have taken the dog to a vet and it has been euthanised. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this terrible time. The incident remains a police investigation.

"The dog had a previous attack registered against it last month, which occurred in its own back yard. The family was undertaking a breed and temperament assessment at the request of council."

Featured Image Credit: Dogs NSW

Topics: Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie