May 22, 2012Dear Sir,I write with regard to today’s front page story of a pet that was mauled by a pit bull. I am aghast that Minister Marc Bean would think it prudent to allow the importation of pit bulls under the concept that it is the person who owns the pit bull, not the animal itself, that is the problem. He’s right; it is idiot owners who allow their prised pit bulls to wander abroad and maul at will that are a problem. It is the drug dealers and/or gang members who breed pit bulls illegally and share registry tags of deceased dogs among themselves who are the problem. However, how many of them are convicted of illegal breeding, or forced by law to pay for the treatment of pets that have been mauled by their negligent behaviour? None of them! How does Minister Bean propose we can prosecute these people when he says there is no way to prove that a particular bite mark came from a pit bull? We must consider that the pit bull was designed by mankind to be what it is- while it is no fault of the dog, it is a killing machine.I had to fight off a pit bull as it was mauling my dog about a year ago. Where is the owner who should have paid for the veterinary care of my dog that was on a leash, on a main road under my supervision, while the pit bull was wandering on its own without supervision through my neighbourhood? The person who “owned” that particular pit bull didn’t care where it was wandering, and as dogs can wander a long way from home, it probably was not even from my neighbourhood in the first place. Minister Bean — how will the present laws keep control of that? Also, I would like to know what Minister Bean would say if the dog on the front page of the paper, or my dog — or any other mauled pet — had been a child? Pit bulls are unstable — they are bred that way — it is in their DNA. There can be docile ones, but even they can still roam loose and snap at a moment’s notice if not on a leash or secured behind fencing, or a locked door — it is in their nature. I can say categorically, I never want to intentionally harm any animal in any way, but after my experience punching a pit bull in its spine, kicking it in its ribs and finally biting it twice on the back to release my dog, I am resolved to beat one to death if ever faced with a similar situation. Minister Bean — you need to talk to some pit bull victims before you consider lifting the ban.Or is it that you have already decided you will lift it, but will tell us later when it suits you?SURVIVORPaget