Save Stella

Stella is a dog being held under BSL in Devon U.K.

Stella has been there in a tiny kennel and not walked for 2yrs and is due to be destroyed very soon.

We need to help this poor sweet dog asap.Stella is a terrier who was seized in 2014 and has been kept in a confined cage since. Under the Dangerous Dog Act of 1991, it is illegal to own a Pit Bull Terrier in the UK. Although the owner has appealed 11 times since Stella was taken in 2014, she was not released.

In addition to not being released, it was determined that Stella, based off of her breed, was too dangerous to interact with others. As a result, Stella was confined to her cage for over two years. Stella was removed from her cage twice for behavioral examinations. Prior to being seized, Stella had no incidents of aggressive or poor behavior - videos taken of Stella also contradict the notion that Stella’s behavior was aggressive, dangerous or poor.

Guidelines provided by the RSPCA on good practices for all police forces state that: “Dogs must be provided with the opportunity to exercise away from their kennel at least once each day for at least 30 minutes.” While it has not been disclosed how it was concluded that Stella’s behavior was dangerous, it seems clear that it was deemed dangerous simply because she is a Pit Bull Terrier breed, and has nothing to do with her actual behavior.

This petition requests the immediate release of Stella. If Stella’s owner is unfit to care for her, then I have a foster available who is willing and able to take care of Stella.

This petition also requests that the Dangerous Dogs Act (“DDA”) be revised and thoughtfully rewritten. The DDA is a piece of legislation that was rushed through government and was largely an overreaction to inaccuracies about the Pit Bull Terrier and other breeds at the time. This piece of legislation is largely unpopular amongst the public and we request that it be shown the time and attention it deserves.

Finally, we request that the DDA prohibit the solitary confinement of animals that are taken and held during ongoing litigation/cases. It is unacceptable to allow an animal to remain in their small cage each and every day, with no interaction and no exercise.

We request that Stella be released, that the DDA be rewritten to include the prohibition on confining animals to small cages without exercise. Finally, we request that the DDA requires that animals being held in circumstances such as Stella’s and in any other circumstance, and given at least 30 minutes each and every day they are held, to exercise.