Many outraged by a ‘Do Not Adopt a Pit Bull’ ad rumored to air during the Super Bowl

A video urging a ban on pit bull adoptions has circulated on the internet, causing outrage throughout social media from many thinking the ad will air during the Super Bowl.

Accompanied on social media with hashtags such as #DoNotAdopt, #DangerousDogs and #BanTheBreed, the 28-second video opens with the statistic 29-0.

Then a series of statements flash across the video:

▪ They killed the most kids.

▪ They killed the most family members.

▪ One breed killed 75 percent of the people who were mauled to death in 2017.

▪ Pit bulls killed 29 Americans in 2017.

▪ That’s nothing to cheer about.

▪ Do not adopt a pit bull.

Response has been mixed, but many have come to the pit bull’s defense.

“Don’t blame my breed,” wrote Krystal Jeffers, whose comment on Facebook generated more than 2,000 likes. “Blame MAN who made them this way.”

“I also agree that their owners frequently are responsible for the harm that the dogs do,” wrote Kenneth Phillips in support of the ad. “BUT that having been said, the sad truth is that the pit bull is an irreparably damaged animal.”

“Can they really play this commercial on TV?” Michelle Weirich added. “Who is paying for this?”

Despite strong reaction to the topic and the fact the ad has been shared close to 100,000 times on Facebook, the Don’t Adopt a Pit Bull ad will not air during the Super Bowl, according to Snopes.com.

The ad originated from Beverly Hills attorney Kenneth M. Phillips, who specializes in dog bite laws.

Phillips confirmed the ad will not air during the Super Bowl.

A 30-second Super Bowl commercial, by the way, costs $5 million, according to Sports Illustrated.

“It is a political piece of sorts because of the controversy surrounding bans of this breed in a number of jurisdictions,” Phillips told Snopes.com. “There are 3.6 million pit bulls in the USA, including purebreds and mixes, making them about 6.6 percent of the canine population. They are responsible for over 80 percent of all canine homicides.”

Pit bull advocates maintain that it is among the least aggressive of canine breeds, and attack or bite incidents attributed to pit bulls often involve other breeds mistakenly identified as American pit bull terriers. Plus, human behavior leads to animal attacks.

“There is not any breed of dog that is inherently more dangerous,” Marcy Setter of the Pit Bull Rescue Center told Snopes.com. “That’s simply not true.”

This story was originally published January 25, 2018 at 7:15 PM with the headline "Many outraged by a ‘Do Not Adopt a Pit Bull’ ad rumored to air during the Super Bowl."