AIBU to feel sorry for the 100 dogs a month destroyed since the XL Bully ban

[Locutus2000]

I hate the whole XL Bully thing, they are a travesty against nature and the primary market appears to be antisocial idiots (not all owners obviously).

But I also love animals, especially dogs, and to hear the police are destroying an average of one hundred banned breeds a month is upsetting. They are still (arguably) sentient beings who experience pain and fear, many will have been mistreated. They didn't ask for some dickhead to fuck with their genes and make them potential monsters.

I'm quite happy for the breeds to be eliminated. I still feel sorry for the innocent dogs losing their lives whilst the breeders and owners usually seem to walk away without consequence.

AIBU to feel this way?

A dog doesn’t have any concept of death so I don’t really believe they are suffering in anyway by being PTS.

I'd just try not to think about it, because what is the alternative? Many, many sentient creatures are killed every week to provide food. How is this really any different? If you accept that these animals need to be culled (and I do), then all you can do is hope that they're destroyed as humanely as possible. Aside from the fact that destroying them is the only practical route, it's also much better for them to go quickly than to be kept alive but with no hope of a happy, normal dog's existence simply because we feel guilty or sad or squeamish.

Usually I'd just say "go tell it to a battery chicken" but in this case I agree with @SerenityNowInsanityLater

One of the things that makes us human is to be able to hold two truths in our minds at the same time. It's sad, but the right thing to do.

None of the animals - food animals or pets - we treat so badly ask to be born. We just value some a bit higher than others.

No, the kindest thing to do is to put them to sleep.

So what? When you (or anybody else) feels sad about something that is happening to somebody else that's being self-indulgent also.

If you can't feel anything for the dogs then again, who cares? They need to be euthanised, nobody is saying anything different are they so no lecture needed.

There are an estimated 100,000 XL bully dogs of which about only around half are legally exempted. So 100 a month is a drop in the ocean of illegally owned dogs. For the ban to make the slightest bit of difference it needs to be enforced much more effectively. (But there were no additional resources provided for the police to do so)
I feel sorry for the dogs held in kennels for months and the kennel staff that are endangered by them, and unclear why it’s happening - police DLO types the dog as an XL, O fails to produce a certificate, dog is euthanased. If the owner wants to argue the toss over what breed it is then they should pay the kennel fees until it’s resolved, knowing that long term kennelling is a much more significant welfare problem than euthanasia.
Completely agree with the comments that it is sad but also necessary, and the point that many times that number of unwanted dogs of other breeds are euthanased due to lack of rescue space or suitable homes.

Yes. But I feel more sorry for the savaged children.

YANBU to feel sorry for them, as they did not choose this life. But it would BVU not to put them down.

It's not the fault of the dogs, but YABVU. There are far, far too many dangerous dogs out there, including dogs in rescue centres that are wholly unsuitable as pets for 99% of people. There are worse things for most of these dogs than being humanely pts.

I know others will disagree but I feel very uncomfortable with dog charities etc that pledge to never put a healthy dog down - in some cases it is the kindest route and would free up resources to help other animals.

Nope. I feel sorry for the entirely innocent people who have been killed/maimed by them.

Cull the whole lot of them.

It is just all a bloody mess. Sad for conflicted owners who see 95% loving family pet but fear the 5%. Sad for the vets, nurses and rescue staff who have to deal with euthanising otherwise healthy dogs.

My main sadness is reserved for the humans that these dogs kill, and that doesn't even touch the side of the humans and pets that are injured in horrific ways. The deaths are the tip of a huge iceberg.

Euthanising these dogs is a necessary evil, sadly.

Same for all animals that are breed and slaughtered for human consideration. All livestock, all poultry, all fish farms.

The dogs have no awareness or any idea of what's coming. It's absolutely no different for them than if they were being anaesthetised to have some teeth removed (except they don't wake up with a sore mouth!)

Of all the things to feel sad about, this isnt even on my radar (and FWIW I'm an animal lover, with several pets)

Well I strongly agree! I've never understood why a lifetime in kennels is automatically seen as better than humane euthanasia.

Nope, not a single tear to shed over the deaths of these beast dogs.

And as others have said, this idea that it is somehow more humane to keep an animal caged in kennels for its entire life than to put it to sleep is twisted.

Same. I don’t feel sorry for euthanised dogs; they don’t feel pain or confusion, they’re dead.

I think it’s reasonable to feel sorry for the dogs, but unfortunately the situation has been caused by idiot breeders and buyers and the destruction is necessary. These dogs are far too powerful and unpredictable to be pets. They ought only to be owned by skilled, trained handlers. I don’t think the ban went far enough because random people still own them. Any dog can turn.

I understand where your coming from op but overall no I don't feel bad. I feel bad for the children that have been attacked to death. They're not safe to have around kids and I'll feel a lot safer when they're all gone and off the streets. The whole situation is just a mess isn't it 🤦🏻‍♀️

Thank you for the lecture, very interesting.

I don't feel bad or sad about it. If I did, I'd be a vegetarian.

I know others will disagree but I feel very uncomfortable with dog charities etc that pledge to never put a healthy dog down - in some cases it is the kindest route and would free up resources to help other animals.

Totally agree. A life in kennels should not be an option, and some dogs that are re-homed should not be too. Responsible owners should be able to enjoy having a dog without it being a constant challenge and heartache, all at the expense of other more mentally healthy dogs who might still be languishing in kennels.

I certainly don't envy the rescues who have to make the decisions though. It must be very hard mentally indeed.

I also suspect spending all that time in kennels isn’t good for them.

i think i get where you're coming from, its a shame that some of those dogs who may never manifest aggression have to be euthanised, but ultimately, if their owners had bothered registering them properly, or had not broken the law, they wouldn't be there.

My emotions are more anger at the breeders, the people who own them, and persist in their 'my dog wouldn't hurt a fly' crap that perpetuates the problem.

It lies with the idiots that will currently be pushing other breeds and ruining them by cross breeding with these awful dogs and finding new ways to breed horrors that skirt the legislation.. cane corso, bull mastiffs, staffies and the like.

There are enough perfectly decent breeds of dog around without frankensteining something for clout, fighting and scary dog privilege.

YABU . They are dangerous monsters and the sooner they are all PTS the better. Should have been an outright ban and cull.

YABU if you still do things like eat meat etc.

I am neither a dog lover nor a vegetarian, so have no moral standing in this debate, but still.