Dear Sir,

The recent publicity in the media concerning pitbull dogs is a cause of grave concern to me. Do not blame the dog wardens for your dilemma; they have to go by the book and the law.

The breed ban has been in place since 2003. Here it is 2015 and certain members of the public are still breaking the law by breeding, selling and buying these illegal, unlicensed dogs.

The ban was put in place years ago for good reason. There were many complaints from the public over dog attacks, and the pitbull was at the top of the list. The government minister at that time had to take action.

I have worked, trained and rescued many wonderful pitbulls but, sad to say, I also came upon some very high prey-drive ones that were special needs animals and exhibited dangerous behaviour.

My son, also a dog warden with many years’ experience and training of dogs, was attacked by a pitbull.

My son is a grown man, 6ft 7in and strong, but he was knocked to the ground, badly bitten on his chest and arm, and his rotator cuff in his shoulder was detached. He had to have two operations. Had this dog attacked a child, the outcome would have been a lot worse.

So there are many reasons why these dogs are on the prohibited list.

The original pitbulls of years ago that were well-balanced, lovely dogs, unfortunately got outnumbered by a bad closed gene pool.

The dogs are in crisis now, they get the death sentence and I see no end to this tragic situation.

How can the minister reward you for your irresponsible behaviour when you keep breaking the law?

No demand for these dogs means no supply.

Members of the public, please stop being the cause and demise of your illegal dogs.

DEBBIE MASTERS, retired animal welfare officer