- American pit bull terriers should not be banned in South Africa, according to an online petition.
- The petition was launched in response to another petition that calls for the breed to be banned, following a spate of deadly attacks.
- Pit bull defenders are blaming backyard breeders for creating crossbreeds that attack humans.
American pit bull terriers are excellent babysitters and toddlers are safe around the dog breed, according to owners of the pets and their supporters.
One owner of three pit bulls, Mbasa Nyegane, says all his dogs have pedigree certificates that show the canines come from a family tree that has no history involving attacks on humans.
Nyengane is among 38 people who have signed a "Do Not Ban Pitbulls as Pets" online petition after a recent spate of attacks, including a number of deaths, put the breed back in the spotlight. The call to action, started by Lee-Ann van Staden, went live on change.org on Thursday.
"Pit bulls are not the problem. It's the people that own them," Van Staden charged in the headline on the petition.
It comes after the Sizwe Kupelo Foundation launched its own petition on 7 October, calling on the government to impose a total ban on pit bulls after 10-year-old Storm Nuku was killed by his family's two pit bulls in Gqeberha.
Nyengana and Van Staden do not agree with the 37 600 people who signed the foundation's petition.
According to Nyengane, thoroughbred American pit bull terriers were not behind the massacre of humans, but crossbreeds that look like thoroughbred pit bulls.
He claimed they were bred by backyard breeders.
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Thoroughbred American pit bull terriers with pedigrees will never kill humans because they are historically known as nanny dogs that have strong love for humans, especially babies, he said.
"Even presidents in the White House had the dogs with kids and they were able to leave the dogs with kids. The dogs are very protective of humans," said Nyengane, who has a young daughter.
He added:
The dogs were never bred to attack people. Instead, backstreet breeders started cross-mating the dogs with other breeds for shows and illegal dog fights, he said.
"Some of them are [what we call] pitboers. You can see it is a combination of a pit bull and boerboel. They look like pit bulls but they are not," he added.
"These are nanny dogs. People would leave them in the house with the kids while maybe [going to do] shopping and these dogs would take care of the kids because they love the kids."
The Pit Bull Federation of South Africa agreed with Nyengane that the dogs behind the spate of attacks were mixed breeds.
"Sadly, times have changed. Gone are the days where the majority of these dogs were of safe known origin. Gone are the times where dogs were selectively bred and only placed with knowledgeable owners. The APBT of today barely resembles the APBT of old. The dogs that do are kept in the hands of the pit bull enthusiast and are never placed with a novice," federation spokesperson Lehanda Rheeder said.
She advised owners against leaving their children alone with any dog.
"Dogs do not possess the mental capacity to 'protect' a child and they lack mental capacity to feel remorse. It is unfair to demand this from them."
Rheeder warned that most pedigrees today are not worth the paper they are printed on.
"Many dogs are and have been mass-bred from dogs that are known man biters because owners and breeders want show dogs. Sadly, we no longer have this card to play," Rheeder added.