When it comes to real world examples of American Bully myths that are false but continue to be taken as fact, there is no scenario as harmful as the events that led to the outlawing of various American Pitbull breeds.
Due to the Bully’s similarity to the Pitbull in looks from high levels of shared genetic components, they are incorrectly summed up with XL American Pitbulls, despite the significant differences in other genetic aspects such as behavior and instinctual purpose.
This false information is rarely corrected because it serves a positive effect with breeder kennels who wish to sell XL puppies for max profits without caring about much else.
Without the proper knowledge of the differences between Bullies and Pitbulls, breeders think that promoting these rumors are ‘harmless’ because in the short-term it seems like it wouldn’t have any negative consequences.
However, with extensive research, dog breed experts can observe the ill effects that this gossip can have on the reputation of the American Pitbull Terrier and the American Bully.
The damage of spreading fake news against these types of hounds completely disregards the special reasons why they are categorized as different breeds in the first place.
If the kennels spreading these lies were instead talking about human people, and the Pitbull or Am. Bully breeds took the form of ethnicities within genetic races such as the hispanic population, it would be like someone discussing how a person of Mexican descent is exactly equivalent to someone of Colombian descent.
An individual with very little knowledge of hispanic ethnicity groups that hear this information may accept it as true since they share a long list of commonalities such as similar appearances, sharing of the Spanish language, common ancestry from a colonial Spaniard past mixed with indigenous native traditions.
Yet, these factors are what classifies them as one of hispanic heritage, but they also stop sharing cultures at a certain point down the line to give them specific identifiers that make them be called Colombian or Mexican.
Both Colombians and Mexicans share a very similar genetic makeup, but have different gene pools because of the regionally separate Native American cultures from which they evolved.
This applies just as true within their own cultures, as many ancient traditions from these long gone civilizations are specific to the location that they lived in, with these two nationalities being hundreds of miles apart.
These geographical origins even apply to the Spanish language, since these past civilizations carry their native tongue through future generations within their national use of slang words or colloquial dialects.
Just like the example above, Pitbulls and Bullies both come from the same shared dog breed ancestor, but they have clear differences between the two that make it enough to classify them as two individual hound types.
Being able to place them into two uniquely named groups gives the reasoning for their separation a scientific explanation that makes it impossible to confuse the two with each other once you understand why they are divided in the first place,
As mentioned earlier in the beginning of the article and in our previous publications, XL Am. Bullies and American Pitbulls have many of the same pieces of DNA that control their appearance.
It’s not uncommon to have an XL American Bully youngster that looks more ‘bully-ish’ than an actual American Pitbull Terrier puppy.
This makes it easy for breeders who don’t care about their litters to make a quick and easy profit by mislabeling the two for selfish marketing purposes since the American Pitbull puppy came first to the scene almost 200 years before the American Bully did.
Nevertheless, it’s at this point where roots of the myth issue begin to take form because the genetic code of each puppy type is way different inside the category of breed behavior traits.
The modern American Pitbull Terrier was selectively bred to be a utility working dog breed and help their hunting owners on the wilderness fields by carrying out certain tasks that made it easier to kill or herd targeted prey.
(Hence the name Pitbull coming from a reference to the hound breed’s ability to take down, or ‘pit’, a bull bovine animal)
In contrast, the XL American Bully was genetically modified in recent times (only a few decades ago in the 1990’s) to eliminate these prey hunting characteristics and replace them with the non-aggressive, emotionally nurturing, and anxiety reducing traits commonly found in companion dog breeds.
If we view the American Pitbull puppies as a capable off-road sport utility vehicle (SUV) like the Jeep or Hummer car brands, then the XL American Bully puppies would be the luxurious, smooth, and comfortable touring sedan automobiles equivalent to Cadillac or Lexus models.
Despite the sound scientific data surrounding the classification of Pitbulls and Bullies, their similar heritage alongside the lack of general breed education continues to make it easy for misinformation to spread around as the norm.
Rumored myths surrounding the American Bully in regards to their association with American Pitbull Terriers have become such an issue that they caused another country’s government to ban both of them altogether with several other breeds that branch off from the generic Pitbull lineage family tree.
Ultimately, it came down to the sphere of influence that the speakers who preached those previously stated rumorous myths had on the heads of state within the Turkish government.
Wielding large levels of political power within their legislative system made it relatively easy to pass a law which severely limited the ownership of multiple Pitbull breeds without much resistance.
A small number of minor incidents occurred within some of the nation’s local areas which combined with the misinformation towards the false perception of the American Pitbull & Bully’s danger to the general population in society.
Therefore a massive overreaction from influential figures surrounding the inner circles of powerful Turkish government politicians prompted a stern reaction in the form of restrictive ownership regulations in the form of a gigantic rules list.
Unfortunately after searching the internet extensively for an English version of the document without any luck in finding one, we’ve taken the time to translate the official government decree which essentially outlawed American Pitbulls and Am, Bullies by making the requirements needed to lawfully comply with the new ruleset virtually impossible to uphold.
Why risk a legal penalty in the form of hefty fines or imprisonment time when you could easily elect to adopt another dog breed not mentioned in the ban?
Our in-house bully experts here at Affinity Kennels felt it was necessary to use the resources required to provide a English edition of the American Pitbull Terriers & Bully ban law document and serve as an example of what could go wrong in the worst possible scenario if nothing is done to educate the public on the differences between these two breeds.
This way if a lawful decree must be ordered to ban American Pitbull breeds within that family lineage sometime in the future, then the decision will be carried out using scientifically based facts after being carefully reviewed with all of the truthful and relevant information, instead of loose hearsay caused by loud fear mongering voiced by those who have no experience with neither American Pitbull Terriers or Bullies.
“The Law No. 7332 on Amending the Animal Protection Law and the Turkish Penal Code was published in the Official Gazette dated 14.07.2021 and numbered 31541 and entered into force. Within the scope of the 5th article of the said law, clause (l) of the 14th article of the Animal Protection Law No. 5199 "Producing, owning, adopting, sheltering, feeding, bartering, exhibiting, gifting and their entry into our country, the animals that pose a danger, determined by the Ministry, It is forbidden to sell and advertise".
In this context, by the commission formed by the representatives of the relevant institutions/organizations by our ministry regarding the identification of dangerous animals; American Pitbull Terrier, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasilerio, Japanese Tosa, American Staffordshire Terrier and American Bully breed dogs are designated as dangerous animals. Thus, the "Circular on Dangerous Animals' ' numbered 2021-48, which covers the issues related to dangerous animals, entered into force on 07.12.2021.
With the circular that came into force, it will be possible to keep the animals in question by their owners, provided that they are owned before 14.07.2021 in accordance with the Law No. 7332 and are sterilized and registered until 14.01.2022. In addition to American Pitbull Terrier, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasilerio, Japanese Tosa breeds, owned American Staffordshire Terrier and American Bully breeds have also been sterilized and microchip marked in veterinary clinics until the said date, and registered with the PETVET system together with the document proving that they have been sterilized by their owners. It is important that they apply to the Directorates of Agriculture. Otherwise, the administrative sanctions stipulated in subparagraph (j) of the first paragraph of Article 28 will be applied to the owners of the animals in question.
Again, these sterilized and registered animals cannot be walked around without registration documents, muzzles and leashes, and cannot be brought into places where the public is concentrated, as well as children's playgrounds and parks. An administrative fine of 11 thousand TL will be imposed on those who violate these provisions; In case of repetition of violation of the prohibitions specified, the animals will be confiscated with an administrative fine and the animal will be taken to the animal shelter by the nearest municipality that has a nursing home where it can be placed.”
Original Turkish Language Declaration Document Source
It’s clear from reading the first sentence within the title of the document that this piece of legislation was crafted from a mass hysteria of emotional fear instead of logical, factual reasoning.
The entire text is full of emotionally striking verbiage implying that all Pitbull breed types mentioned are viciously risky to own, yet it provides no factual basis for any of the stated claims,
One of the founding missions imagined by our founder and top Bully breed expert David was to create the realistic vision of a world without this tarnished reputation revolving around all Pitbull breeds.
The Affinity Kennel principles from the very beginning set out to turn that dream into a reality by focusing efforts on the care of the XL American Bully breed.
This philosophy extends through many methods, from the free access to XL American Bully breed specific learning materials educating everyone towards the realities of what makes this beautiful hound type so special, while simultaneously removing the mythical over exaggeration of non-existent negative traits.
In addition to our dedicated public outreach spreading positive awareness of American Pitbulls & Bullies, we trickle this notion down to how we raise our XL bully puppy litters and the following preparation to the future owners who will soon be lifelong members of the Affinity Family lineage.
As always, please reach out and contact us with any questions, comments, or concerns that you may have.
We are always happy to help and guide interested parties whether they are customers or not!