# How Changing Portraits and Opinions of “Pit Bulls” Undermined Breed-Specific Legislation in the United States

## TL;DR

This paper shows how positive portrayals of pit bulls in media and culture changed public opinion and led to the repeal of hundreds of discriminatory laws against them in the U.S.

## Contribution

The study demonstrates how shifting public perceptions through media influence can directly impact policy changes related to breed-specific legislation.

## Key findings

- Public support for pit bulls increased significantly from 2014 to 2024.
- Voter support for overturning pit bull bans rose substantially during the same period.
- Over 300 discriminatory laws against pit bulls were repealed since 2012 due to changing public sentiment.

## Abstract

This article explains how the rise in positive portraits of pit bull-type dogs on social media and in popular culture helped change public opinion and policies. Drawing on insights from the respective social science research on changes in attitudes and public policy, we argue that this influx of positivity should powerfully impact opinions and policies towards pit bull-type dogs. In keeping with that contention, our analyses of nationally representative survey data show that public support for “pit bulls” grew considerably from 2014 to 2024. We also show that voters’ support for ballot measures overturning local “pit bull bans” increased substantially during that same ten-year period. Finally, we analyze recent state and local policy debates to show how this growing “pit bull positivity” has helped overturn over 300 discriminatory laws against these dogs since 2012.

Scholars and journalists typically trace the diffusion of breed-specific legislation (BSL) in the U.S. to the surge in negative media portraits of pit bull-type dogs (PBTDs) during the late twentieth century. Yet, while news coverage still portrays these dogs unfavorably, we document a sharp rise in countervailing sources of “pit bull positivity” over the past two decades. Drawing on insights from the respective social science research on changes in attitudes and public policy, we argue that this influx of positivity should powerfully impact opinions and policies towards PBTDs. Our data and analyses consistently support that argument. We analyze two different series of repeated cross-sectional surveys to show that public support for “pit bulls” grew considerably from 2014 to 2024. We also show that voters’ support for ballot measures overturning local “pit bull bans” increased substantially during that same ten-year period. Finally, our analysis of the frames and narratives deployed in recent state and local policy debates shows how this growing pit bull positivity has helped overturn over 300 discriminatory laws against these dogs since 2012. We conclude with a discussion of how shifts in portraits and opinions of PBTDs will likely continue eroding breed-specific legislation going forward.