Please be aware of a DNA test being advertised offering an “exemption” DNA test to show that your dog is not a Pit Bull “which can be used in court or with any agency” they also imply that the dogs in the attached photograph have had their test applied saying “Here are a set of images taken of dogs that some may consider a “pit bull” based on physical characteristics. Based on our test, the only dog with significant pit bull terrier is picture #3. This dog according to our test is only 12% pit bull.” The attached image is from a quiz published on the blog site “The truth about Pit Bulls” in April 2011 and the dog they refer to as the Pit Bull (#3) is actually an Alapaha blue blood bulldog. The Pit Bull is actually the red dog at #16 which we guess says it all really
We are not publishing a link so as not to give publicity however for the avoidance of doubt Regina v Knightsbridge Crown Court, ex parte Dunne. Brock v Director of Public Prosecutions – Queen’s Bench Divisional Court ruled in 1993 that the words Pit Bull ‘type’ contained within the Dangerous Dogs Act of 1991 that the word ‘type’ in relation to dogs had a broader meaning than ‘breed’, and that a court could properly conclude that a dog was ‘of the type known as the pit bull terrier’ within the meaning of section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, so long as its characteristics substantially conformed to the standard set for the breed by the American Dog Breeder’s Association (ABDA), even though it did not meet that standard in every respect. It was ruled that a court could properly conclude that a dog was ‘of the type known as the pit bull terrier’ if the dog approximately amounted to, was near to, or had a substantial number of the characteristics of the pit bull terrier as set out in the ABDA’s standard.
As a dog in UK law can be substantially be of type whilst not actually containing any Pit Bull in its breeding and as the Pit Bull Terrier standard set out by the ADBA lays out the standard for a working type based on ability we would suggest that there is little or nothing to gain by having a ‘certificate of exemption’ produced by anyone other than Defra