PHOENIX — After a telling study, an Arizona rescue shelter that doesn’t kill the dogs it takes in has decided to take the breed labels off of all of the dogs they have for adoption. The Arizona Animal Welfare League was influenced by the results of an Arizona State University study that showed how people judge animals too quickly just by looking at their labels.
Researcher Lisa Gunter and her colleagues did a study called “What’s in a Name?” “Effect of Breed Perceptions & Labelling on Attractiveness & Length of Stay for Pit-Bull-Type Dogs.”
Michael Morefield of the Arizona Animal Welfare League says the study showed that dogs were adopted “one-third as often” when they weren’t labeled “Pit Bulls.”
Morefield and his team are now starting a pilot program to see if removing breed labels will reduce breed bias and lead to more Pit Bulls being adopted. Instead of listing their breed, the shelter will now give a more detailed description of the dog’s personality and history, which are what really make up the dog.
Another shelter in Orange County has already tried to get rid of breed labels, and it worked very well. In 2014, Orange County Animal Services got rid of all the labels. Over the next year, the number of Pit Bulls that were adopted went up by 64 percent.
In the same year, the number of Pit Bulls that were put down-dropped by 12 percent, and adoptions of “dangerous” breeds like the Doberman went up by 12 percent. The Arizona Animal Welfare League hopes that over the course of their program to get rid of breed labels, a lot more dogs will be adopted.
On the information sheet, the breed will no longer be written down.
This kind of adoption sheet will now be used at the shelter in Arizona.
Source: 3MillionDogs
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