The Pit Bull breed makes up 5-9.6% of the United States dog population. In 2007, there were above 72 million dogs in the United States provided by American Pet Products Manufacturers Association. That’s between 3,600,000 and 6,912,000 Pit Bull breed dogs in the United States. So, for our example we’ll take the average percent between 5 and 9.6, and use 7.3 percent, which would give an average estimation of the Pit Bull population in the United States. That information leaves us with 5,256,000 Pit Bulls. There are more Pit Bulls in the United States at 5,256,000, then there are people in countries like; Norway at 4,875,700, Ireland at 4,459,300, New Zealand at 4,363,600, and the list goes on.
This Pit Bull information shows that, if countries can control their own human populations, why is it that we cannot with one breed of a dog.
IMHO a huge contributing factor to the population explosion is the widely-held idea that you can make money (and not report it on your taxes!) selling pit bull puppies. SI meet so many people who “have heard” this. I think it leads people to try to backyard breed even if they are not personally interested in pit bulls — it’s like earthworm ranching or the old “raise chinchillas for fur” home moneymaking schemes people who need money have always gravitated towards. Results are, of course, many many puppies; bad breeding practices; and disinterested “owners” looking only to hold down their costs.
Is it possible to make money breeding pit bulls? I don’t know. Can we somehow make it so it doesn’t pay? Can we oppose this belief somehow?
–Sailboat
