So says the age old adage. Here, we will present to you examples of how true this statement is today.

Today Tonight
While the EDBA and other responsible groups are trying to bring about sensible and effective dog laws, some TV programs devote valuable air time to people who wish to make matters even worse CLICK HERE

Emma Vann.
11 yr old girl attacked in Alderly, in the north of Brisbane  CLICK HERE

NBC4.COM
A blatant case of faking the evidence for the sake of a good story  CLICK HERE

Courier Mail
An Article from January 27th 1996 CLICK HERE
 

As the most powerful tool available for communication and education, most media is guilty of mere sensationalism ,direct misinformation and omission of information in reporting dog attacks.

Their calls for quick solutions where none exist have caused political acts which see government after government follow like so many lemmings down the road of useless, unenforceable laws, with excessive costs and litigation borne by disgruntled voters—not to say a wake of dead pets!

This all occurs to the detriment of measures focussing on  the nexus of dog selection, responsible ownership, training, containment and supervision with children—all of which have a direct bearing on any likelihood of a dog bite occurrence! 

The media has had a feeding frenzy on American Pit Bull Terriers, seeking salacious details of a dog attack 

• Judging by statistics available, media turns down any dog bite story unless it can magically  within a par or two, turn into  a tale of a “pitbull” attack!
• Old shots of some vicious dog snarling are shown to draw attention, from Lost Dog's Home and RSPCA magazines, to newspaper articles—that dog surely by now is long in the tooth !
• the word “pitbull” is soon, included and the coverage  is prominent, the space is generous.
• If stats are used, “bull” breeds and crosses are indiscriminately added ,particularly to increase supposed breed culpability--but this is not declared, one works it out!
• There are always the quotes from prominents who have their own axe to grind, even when their profession and organization propounds a more scientific policy, the “No redeeming features” “’till it suddenly turns on the children”’ “no place in society” “a loaded gun”(this  requires a human hand on the trigger, remember!) etc., will be forthcoming and give credence to the most illogical of emotional arguments- a dog is 100% responsible for an attack!. Is every attack dog a wild hunter??
• The full circumstances of an attack ,mostly due to negligent ownership, are not the focus, it's  quotes and facts which will enable the dog to be depicted as the villain.—why a dog is loose is never asked!
• Applicable laws and whether they have been met or are adequate are never questioned by reporters after a good “pitbull” story. They blame the breed of dog, full stop.-Singlemindedness!
• Language is colourful, dare we say, emotional in conjuring up “killer” dogs.—there is never the admission ANY dog over 25 kgs  in attack mode could inflict horrific damage and not be fended off.

Whilst ONE dog has been attacking, let's say it IS an APBT ,at the same time, thousands of the very same breed are at home being good dogs! Like  Steve Irwin’s one, yes, the crocodile hunter, and Brad Pitt’s pit!!  When Victorian attack statistics appeared in the HeraldSun, they showed 21 attacks by Pit bulls, out of 683 total for 20 breeds identified, when dog population was 900,000----at the same time as the new Bill to curtail “pitbulls” was reported in full. It takes very few brains to work out there were huge gaps in the logic and credibility here—what about all the other 19 breeds of which 12 had bitten more than the banned breed?? How exactly would this STOP dog attacks and make the community safe?

• False facts are also perpetuated .How many times has it been written Pit bulls have killed 4 persons, in Australia, the truth is NONE of those killer dogs were pitbulls—the university research uncovered the truth.
• When did the media ever retract a wrong statement?
• Or enlarge the details when they did not condemn the dog breed? Last year's attack in SA by a “Rottweiler” was a by a crossbreed rescued dog with a poor recent history and it was found to have a biro embedded in its ear—an Adelaide paper refused to print that detail however.

Even with a statement of crossbreeding signed by the SPCA officer that destroyed the dog responsible, the Toowoomba death of Mrs Barbara Stringer is still reported as death  by a pitbull.
 

• Early stories of pitbulls carried the old myths of scissor jaws , psi of bite and unreliability—none of which have ever been shown scientifically and all of which have been debunked scientifically! But still, to whip up the feelings, newspapers  repeat and ……
• Stop a second and think—how could thousands of any breed of dogs so vicious, so outrageously strong and unreliable have existed in the community for over 20 yr. and suddenly they are everywhere biting and attacking to the degree we must condemn every one?
• The facts do not add up—the APBT has consistently performed as a breed within the top 5 in the respected American Temperament Test, and has outperformed the beloved Labrador! When was this ever freely reported?
• The original fight bred dogs had to be trustworthy with humans to be handled by a number of men and this is the characteristic of these bull and terrier breeds that is forgotten or deliberately omitted when breed bans are the cry.

We would like to ask journalists if they have decided when enough is enough?
Is it intended that dog breeds will be added to these bans until society is free of dogs?
Breed bans sit nicely alongside welfare calls to ban all hunting etc---there is scope to say the hidden agenda of the animal liberationists certainly seems at play.

Do not 42%--dog ownership in Australia-- of the population deserve better consideration than erosion of freedom of choice and democratic rights in the matter of dog ownership?
 

• Ask the politicians why failed legislation world-wide is good enough for Australians, when in trade, the environment, tourism etc. no measure would be considered without a good track record?
• Ask why should we accept without demurring the upturning of the British system of justice—a restricted dog means an owner is guilty until he proves innocence! Look what is happening in Qld—a dog can be declared by some council worker and taken—its owner to save the destruction of a couch potato need to enact litigation and prove the unproveable—no DNA test exists to establish a dog's breed, any decision is subjective! Australian dog justice under ALP governments for us!
• Ask the welfare exponents who set themselves up as the moral arbiters of our choice of companion and want to compel us to their directions, how it is that on one hand, centuries of human dog selection and culling has meant old breeds are no longer used for their original purpose and yet ALL APBT are bred to fight and  are dangerous! paraphrase Dr Wirth here.
• Ask them which breeds were originally called the “nanny dog” and why this was so??
• Ask them how they can claim to be men of science when they stand apart from all scientific bodies with a body of evidence and current research that shows aggression is more an expression of an individual dog's reaction to its environment than it is of any breed characteristic?
• Ask them about aggression and its many forms and degrees within any breed of dog and then demand that knowledge is applied to the dog bite statistics which clearly show all breeds can contain biters and that popular breeds will always lead the lists!
• Finally, ask  all groups to explain, because it seems impossible, HOW the children at most risk from dog attacks will be protected by measures which blame the breed of the dog and do not address the quality of ownership of dogs, when children and dogs live together in families and communities, and the dogs are not the ones in control? 

We support responsible choice and ownership and we acknowledge any journalism which is factual and balanced—Adrian Tame of HeraldSun, Melbourne, presented such an article in August 2001…entitled”Canine ban the pits”
When the media decides education and truth is its role, EDBA will supply answers and information.