> Only I wish that accountability included jail time.
Here in New Zealand, it has included time in gaol. A few years ago there were these two homosexualists who owned a pit bull that mauled a little girl, tore off her face in an unprovoked random attack in a park.
Naturally, these sterling pet owners and upstanding Citizens fled the scene, hid their dog, and denied responsibility.
The law wasn’t fooled, and they were charged and convicted and sent to gaol. The little girl had her face re-attached but will be scarred for life.
I am in favor of “vicarious liability” for all dog owners: the owner gets charged for any assaults the dog commits as if it were done by the owner himself. If that concept were in place for dogs (it already exists in law for employees) then I bet you’d see dangerous mungrel mutt Pit Bull dogs euthanized by their owners so fast it would make your head spin.
The risk of owning one would just be too great.
One problem with pit bull owners acknowledging risk, is that they avoid being honest about consequences. If their next door neighbor is imprisoned for a pit bull attack, they will deny that it could happen to them. Such is the criminal nature.