AKC Sample Anti-BSL Letter


Following is a sample anti-BSL letter courtesy of the AKC that can be tweaked to oppose a city or county council’s breed-specific legislation, or BSL on the state level. You can also find the letter at the AKC legislative site here (word) and here (PDF):

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The Honorable <Name of legislator>
Address

RE: Oppose <Bill#>

Dear <Senator ________OR Representative ________ OR Assemblyman or Assemblywoman ________>:

I am writing you today because I am a constituent and I am concerned about <Bill #>, a measure that discriminates against responsible dog owners in <insert state or municipality>.

[Personalize here: tell about yourself as a dog owner. Include any information detailing your actions a responsible dog owner. How would the breed-specific legislation affect your rights as a responsible dog owner? If applicable, describe how you and your dog are unfairly targeted by this law. Please include any titles your dog holds including conformations and especially Canine Good Citizen certificates. What has been your experience with the targeted breeds during your years in dogs? ]

Breed-specific legislation is an ineffective solution to animal control problems because it does not address the real cause of the issue”irresponsible ownership. Responsible owners are already complying with local animal control laws and are unfairly targeted by this law just because of the breed of dog they own. As a result of breed-specific laws, many well-behaved dogs become targets, even though they are not a problem in the community.

Meanwhile, irresponsible owners will continue to make problems for their communities regardless whether or not they own a breed targeted by breed-specific laws. A better use of taxpayer funds would be to concentrate animal control efforts on irresponsible dog owners who do not adequately care for or control their animals, and on individual dogs whose behavior demonstrates that they are a problem for their community.

I respectfully ask you to vote no on <Bill#>.

Sincerely,

Your Name
Address

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