Sioux Falls, SD: Whispers of BSL

In July, the Sioux Falls, SD, Land Use Committee will begin discussing ways to reduce dog bites in the city. One of the options brought forward by councilmember Karsky is BSL or a breed ban of some type. Karsky is on the Land Use Committee, so will be participating in early discussions that will shape the city’s options going forward.

Karsky’s statistics (noted in the article below) are suspect, because there are no known scientific, accurate, and up-to-date studies such as the one described. We suspect Karsky got his info from Merritt Clifton, whose “data” is little more than psuedoscience (hand-picked, intentionally mis-analyzed numbers masquerading as scientific data).

Residents and locals, please respectfully contact the land use committee members and tell them why breed-specific laws are not an acceptable solution.

Contact info for Sioux Falls land use committee:
Rex Rolfing (Chair), Kermit Staggers, Dean Karsky, Kenny Anderson Jr.
rrolfing@siouxfalls.org; kstaggers@siouxfalls.org; dkarsky@siouxfalls.org; kandersonjr@siouxfalls.org
Meeting agendas: http://www.siouxfalls.org/council/view-meetings.aspx

Council puts dog attacks on topics list

12:17 AM, Jun 10, 2012
Sarah Reinecke

The City Council’s land use committee soon will begin a public discussion about what steps Sioux Falls could take to reduce the potential for dog bites or attacks.

Councilor Dean Karsky, who works in the insurance industry, presented dog bite statistics to the council last week that show pit bulls and Rottweilers are responsible for about 70 percent of all dog bites in the nation that require medical treatment. Karsky said Friday he has not talked to the other councilors about the issue, and while he’s not pushing for any kind of citywide ban on those breeds, he would be for it.[…]

Full article retrieved 6/11/12 from http://www.argusleader.com/article/20120610/NEWS/306100021/Council-puts-dog-attacks-topics-list?nclick_check=1