British politician wants to ban “dangerous” Japanese dog breed
After a few recent incidents in which British children were attacked by dogs of the Akita breed, a British politician running for re-election has announced that he will try to ban these dangerous and exotic beasts:
The Japanese hunting dog, or akita, is proving increasingly popular among owners in the UK, despite a tendency towards violence, particularly towards young people.
The breed was originally used to hunt bears in Japan, and is regarded among dog experts as being prone to unpredictable behaviour.
[…|
“You would have to look into whether the dangers associated with owning the dogs outweighed the freedom of people to do what they want, and perhaps this recent spate means that balance is going against that freedom.
“The question that occurs to me is, does anyone really need a dog that has been specifically bred and trained to kill a bear?
“Despite all the coverage last year on similar cases, including the one on Anna Knuckles from Carmarthen, nothing has been done at all to get these dangerous dogs off the street and to keep them away from children.
“This is an increasingly prevalent problem and the Government seems to do absolutely nothing about it.
“The akita is bred to bring down bears, so people have no chance against them.
“I don’t know why someone would want a bear-hunting dog and I feel strongly that the Government should add them to the list of banned breeds.
One report about a recent mauling attack had these bullet points at the end of the article:
# Akitas are native to the island of Honshu in the Akita region of Japan.
# The Akita’s ancestors were historically used as hunting dogs and Samurai warriors used Akitas for dog fighting.
# Recent DNA analysis has confirmed that Akitas are one of the most primitive breeds of dog.
Wow, i can almost visualize brutal samurai warriors sending primitive Akitas into battle against bears, and then pitting the dogs against eachother in violent deathmatches!
Dogs of this breed have also been known to attack children in the United States, and some insurance companies there actually charge higher premiums to households that own Akitas.
Not everyone agrees with the conclusion that Akitas are a dangerous breed. Kjled Duits points out that the wikipedia entry on Akitas contains nothing about the breed being a primitive fighting dog that is prone to mauling children. It is also worth noting that the Akita is not considered a dangerous dog here in Japan, where the great Hachiko stands as a symbol of loyalty.
| Related Posts: |
|
Look, Japanese people hate Koreans. Japan’s Most Dangerous Streets British Internet watchdog: Japan is a source of child pornography |
Full RSS Feed
i think they mean primitive as in closely related to wild wolf, as opposed to being a domesticated pet like a dalmation or something
and really, wikipedia? really?
Rate this comment:
0 
0
May wanna ban Dalmatians too.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
The owners should make sure that they do everything to ensure peoples safety.On the other hand parents should know what there children are doing and take good care of them.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
I am actually living in England (originally from Germany) and my family owns a dog (not a monster by anyones standards, you can be happy if he lifts his head every now and then…)
Anyway, over here everyone and his uncle own a Staffordshire Bullterrier (which btw. I find to be extremely ugly). Kids are taking them for a walk etc. At the same time, these dogs are on a list of dogs that are not allowed to be imported into Germany and if you got one, it is only allowed to be held under special restrictions. Same goes for parts of Switzerland, where you are not allowed to have one at all.
I guess it is safe to say that in most cases, the beasty on the other side of the leash is as least as responsible for what a dog is like as is the breed.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
i have an akita and there brilliant so fuck up and leave them alone lock up murders and rapists to keep the country safe and leave the harmless pets out of it!!!!!!!
Rate this comment:
0 
0
You should be ashamed of yourself if you want the Akita banned. I own two of them and they are no problem to anyone as they were socialised correctly. I know they are more than capable of killing a person. My male akita weighs in at 62 kgs and he certainly looks menacing but in reality he is very gentle. My son climbs all over him, pulls his ears and tails and trys to horsey ride on him. The akita looks at my son as though he is just some of an amusement. He has never growled and snarled at him nor has he ever shown any aggressive behaviour towards him. I do agree that people who own them should take responsibilty for this graceful and noble animal. People who own them as a status symbol should be taken out and flogged tarred and feathered. I have had my male akita trained as a close protection dog so i know that if i ever had to use him as protection its not a case of him doing it, it is more that i can stop him. And yes he does so without questioning the command. Akitas are no more dangerous than the person who owns them. Make the owner responsible for their actions. Walk the dog on a leash and a muzzle if you are not able to control your akita. Easy!
Rate this comment:
0 
0
Riding on the back of an akita is a risky business. If he bites, it will be major damage and life long scaring for your child. The akita bite is among the very strongest, It could possibly severe a limb of a child.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
Any person who thinks Akitas should be added to the dangerous dogs list must be a complete idiot and an ignorant fool. If this jobsworth “politician” took the time to visit any number of Akita owners then he/she would realise that this amazing animal, although may once have been used for bear hunting, are actually gentle giants and the perfect family pet.
At the end of the day any dog is dangerous, and the owners should be held responsible for the dogs actions, not the dog, certainly not the breed.
People have some sense!
I hope this “politician” has a glass belly, that way hed be able to see where he is going when he/she makes head up arse bullshit uninformed statements .
Rate this comment:
0 
0
“I don’t know why someone would want a bear-hunting dog and I feel strongly that the Government should add them to the list of banned breeds.”
I will tell you exactly why someone would want a bear-hunting dog. Because they are loyal, loving, protective, fun, beautiful…the list goes on.
I have a stunning Japanese Akita. He is the perfect gentleman, great with everybody, especially children, other dogs and I can even trust him with my rabbits. I wish people could come and meet my dog before they condemn the whole breed because of a few bad apples!
I hope this idiot of a politician educates himself a bit.
I have to deal with predujice against my Akita because of attitudes like this. Breed bans are not the answer, breeds are not the problem! The problem is people who can’t control their dogs, all dogs can be dangerous, so why don’t we just ban all of them?!
The answer is eductating people, and making sure dogs are kept under control. As someone else said, all it takes is a lead and a muzzle if you can’t control your dog!
Rate this comment:
0 
0
I’ve been bitten by Labradors twice, maybe we should ban them too? The whole breed must be vicious, violent, aggressive dogs if I met two nasty ones, right?
HAVE SOME COMMON SENSE, PLEASE! BAD PEOPLE MAKE BAD DOGS!
Rate this comment:
0 
0
Its unlikely that you will perish from the bite of a labrador. Pitbulls Akitas Rottys etc are just a tad more serious when it comes to inflicting damage
Rate this comment:
0 
0
try telling that to the family in south Tulsa who’s baby was mauled to death by a labrador!
any dog above a certain height, weight and strength can cause serve injurges! bad owners will raise bad dogs, if you want to prevent serve injurges, you’d have to ban and kill every single dog above a certain height and weight. or you could prevent attacks regardless of breed, though education of dog owners, children and the general public about dog safety.
it has been proven that a 1 hour dog safety class between year 2 and 3 reduced dog attacks on that age group by 80%. this is the route the clagery took, they put huge resorces in educational programs.
lets not forget that 1 of the children that was mauled by an akita, jumped over the fence to get his ball knowning the dog lived there. no he didn’t desirve to get mauled, by wear were the parents and why didn’t they teach him NOT to go into other peoples gardens without permission.
when i was a child, my parents taught me to knock on people’s doors if my ball went into their garden, as well as not to approach or pet unkown dogs. most attacks can be prevent with education and common sense.
but hay, lets not do that, lets kill of any thing that has the potentail to cause injurgy, heaven forbid a parent might actaully have to do some parenting! (Sarcasm)
if you ban 1 large dog breed, bad owners move on to the next one. then attacks by that breed go up, and along comes the media to profit and then everyone wants to ban that breed. italy started out with 11 breeds in their bsl, they ended up with 92+, including, collie ( e.g lassie) and corgi, ext. they’ve know got rid of it as a dangerous breed doesn’t exsit. and their not they only place to lift their breed bans either.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
What idiots. Akitas arnt bad dogs. They are easily trained and very loyal. As for their “unpredictable behaviour”, dogs fight all the time. I mean, shit. Look at chihuahuas. Aggressive little shits. If they were the size of an akita, they would be destroyed asap.
In Aus, i hear of dogs attacking ppl. Only once was it an akita. I mean jeez, here, a horse picked up a little boy by the neck and threw him so far it killed him. Lets ban all stallions too!
Lets ban golden retrievers and huskies. They attack ppl too! and why not maltese? ive heard of a few attacking babies. LETS JUST BAN ALL THE FUCKING DOGS. Idiots. Lets ban politicians too. How about that.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
I had a 13stone male akita, Big friendly giant. Until one day the little shit from across the street gets a big stick and wacks the dog repeatly on the head. The next day i had the dog on the leesh and a street full off 3-7 year olds, everythings fine and then theres the little shit once again pelting the dog with stones in my presence, The dog runs towards him and bites.
Was that the dogs fault? NO!
I lost my dog because some dickheads dont know how to raise there fucking kids.
I never had a problem with that dog in the hole 6 years i had him until that.
That politician dont no what the hell he/she is talking about!
Rate this comment:
0 
0
Dogs have psychologies that come from wolves and coyotes, from domestication and selective breeding, and from their having to interact with humans. Akitas require proper handling, specific to the breed or at least to the sort of dog it is–such as the way you might handle an Alsatian. Akitas are great guard dogs. They are not for first time owners unless these owners get trained on how to handle them. There is nothing about the breed that is particularly exotic or dangerous.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
The wiki article, like so many, need re-written. The Akita is a spitz type dog–lots of spitz types in Europe as well as Asia. It is an old breed relative to most breed that are popular now because most breeds have been developed only fairly recently. If you took a whole selection of domesticated dog breeds and let them go feral, in several generations they would look like coyotes because the breeds that succeeded in surviving and breeding would be the wolf-like, coyote-like, dingo-like dogs or dogs that were not that far from them. There is no doubt in my mind that the Akitas would have good representation in that emergent gene pool.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
how ignorant must this politicion be? why ban a specfic breed, why not tackle the real problem, bad owners? (well of course they wouldn’t tackle bad owners, that would mean they have to do something useful heaven forbid) i bet this guy has not even done his research properly, labrodours are a common breed which attack, so why single out akitas?
yes it is true that the akita was originally designed for bear hunting, but is there any mention in that article as to how loyal and graceful the dog is? its made to seem as is the akita is some bear crushing monster which is far from the truth.
akitas are lovely animals, so don’t believe all the bullshit in the article.
p.s
why not tackle problems such as recession, knife crime, criminals, drugs, etc and leave the dogs alone!!!!
Rate this comment:
0 
0
I live in the U.S. and my neighbors own an Akita, and it has attacked three young children, from the neighborhood.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
I own 2 akitas and foster them, I think youare very ignorant and pre judgemental, it is the owners that are the arseholes not the dogs fault, every akita i have owned have loved my kids and my cat. I think the government should sort out the killings knife crime robberys etc before talking shit!!
Rate this comment:
0 
0
I love the akita breed. To me they are a fantastic animal. However, I can understand the concerns of many as they are are extremely strong and difficult to stop if they attack.
I was shocked when i witnessed a fight break out between two akitas. (this was accidental, when one escaped from an enclosure they are great escape artists) Unlike most breeds, it was clear from the onset, that the two were intent on killing each other. They were incredibly difficult to separate, and one incidently was a family pet (was extremely docile dog and was well socialised with children)
Given that there are so many instances of this breed having attacked children, it has to be a serious concern for governments. Especially when taken into account that they are relatively few in numbers when compared with other breeds.
I believe it would be irresponsible to leave these dogs unsupervised with young children. They are a very dominant dog, and the pack pecking order with this breed is often challenged especially with the male, even with experienced handlers.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
So i understand the concern of the dog attacking as anyone should be with any breed of dog. Akitas were not just breed for hunting. and they were never actally breed to fight. Akitas were also breed to protect the emperors children; as well as japanese mothers used to leave their children home with the akita. It was the babysitter/protector of the family….they didnt bother to mention that while they were on their way to trying to kill off a breed. Thats what happens when they ‘ban’ a breed, they round them up and youthanize them. If you own an akita i suggest ou hide it cause if they find out you have one it will be taken if its banned. its like a doggie holocaust…
Rate this comment:
0 
0
As you cannot ensure that people will use muzzles with these dogs the safest way is to ban them. You can go on and on about how your Akita is a friendly dog but how can you be sure it will not snap one day? If it does you will surely wish the dog at hand was not a breed of a bear-killer. Risking the lives of your children. Like that woman in the u.s who was killed by her friendly presa while giving it a friendly bath. Hahahaha. Will people never learn?
Rate this comment:
0 
0
I got bitten by a cross corgi/chihuauau. Are they going to be banned too?
What about my neighbours Jack Russell who barks and bears his teeth and goes for you if you get anywhere near it.
How stupid is the country getting!!!!
Rate this comment:
0 
0