staffordshire bull terriers ARE “pit bulls” in the general definition of the breed-virtually every pit bull ban here in the US includes staffordshire bull terriers in the definition. i can’t find the link right now, but i recall a site dedicated to an athletic version of the SBT in the UK that is full of dogs that are identical to the performance-bred (old-standard fighting) American Pit Bull Terriers here in america.
from what i understand, staffordshire bull terriers are beloved pets in the UK, which goes to show what effect selective breeding for GOOD temperament produces.
Animal abuse, neglect, and cruelty are very specific terms with specific meaning in a legal setting. IME what you might consider “cruelty” (such as TwoTrouts case) can be argued to be proper training by the dog’s owner.
However, the owner could then have you charged/investigated for theft or similar.
In the UK ‘pit bull’ refers to American Pit Bull Terriers or similar. Staffies are great dogs, big friendly softies, but they do have mouths like alligators. Interestingly, American Staffordshire Terriers (Am Staffs) seem to be regarded as pit bull ‘like’, hence this line:
So I guess the dogs are slightly more pit-bull like in the US.
From the same source:
If your dog matches that description, a court can decide it’s a Pit Bull and destroy it.
