Editing Pit bull (section)

== History ==
[[File:Benjamin Marshall - Dustman - Bulldog and Terrier Mix.jpg|thumb|200px|Early 19th century bull-and-terrier]]

The term has been used since at least the early 20th century.<ref name="The Dog fancier 1913">{{cite web |title=The Dog fancier v.12 1903 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044095334702&view=1up&seq=258&q1=%22pit%20bull%22 |publisher=The Dog fancier |page=28 |date=1903}}</ref>{{r|Webster}} It is believed all dogs that are now classified as pit bulls descend from the British [[bull-and-terrier]], which were first imported into North America in the 1870s.{{r|Fogle|Morris}} The bull-and-terrier was a breed of dog developed in the United Kingdom in the early 19th century for the [[blood sport]]s of dog fighting and [[rat baiting]]. It was created by crossing the ferocious, thickly muscled [[Old English Bulldog]] with the agile, lithe, feisty [[Black and Tan Terrier]].{{r|Fogle|Morris}} The aggressive Old English Bulldog, which was bred for [[bear baiting|bear]] and [[bull baiting]], was often also pitted against its own kind in organized dog fights, but it was found that lighter, faster dogs were better suited to dogfighting than the heavier Bulldog.{{r|Fogle|Morris|Beaufoy}} To produce a lighter, faster, more agile dog that retained the courage and tenacity of the Bulldog, outcrosses from local terriers were tried, and ultimately found to be successful.{{r|Fogle|Morris|Beaufoy}}

As it was in the UK, dog fighting became a popular pastime in 19th century America and bull-and-terriers were imported to the New World to pursue the blood sport.{{r|Fogle|Morris}} In the United States, organized dog fights have been progressively outlawed in various states since 1874, culminating in federal legislation criminalizing animal fighting in 2007.{{r|Kalouf}}

In the 1890s breeders of American pit bull–type dogs attempted to have their dogs recognized by the [[American Kennel Club]], but because of the type's association with dogfighting, the club rejected these entreaties.{{r|Fogle|Morris}} Following this rejection, in 1898 breeders of American Pit Bull Terriers established a rival [[kennel club]], the [[United Kennel Club]]. In addition to being a breed registry, the United Kennel Club also regulated dogfights.{{r|Fogle|Morris|Wilcox}} In the 1930s the American Kennel Club was faced with a dilemma: whilst not wishing to condone dogfighting, there was a desire to recognize a uniquely American dog breed for which over 30 years of breed records existed.{{r|Fogle|Morris|Wilcox}} The solution was to recognize Pit Bull Terriers under a different name and prohibit these dogs from being used in organized fights, and in 1935 the American Kennel Club recognized Pit Bull Terriers as Staffordshire Terriers.{{r|Fogle|Morris|Wilcox}}[[File:003 American Pit Bull Terrier.jpg|thumb|American Pit Bull Terrier]]

The name "Staffordshire Bull Terrier" was first used in Britain in 1930 in advertisements for bull-and-terrier-type dogs.{{r|Beaufoy}} Organized dog fighting had been effectively eliminated in the United Kingdom by the [[Protection of Animals Act 1911]], but devotees of the bull-and-terrier type continued to breed these dogs, predominantly in England's [[Black Country]].{{r|Beaufoy}} Throughout the early 1930s attempts were made in England to gain recognition for these dogs with [[The Kennel Club]]; these efforts were successful in 1935.{{r|Fogle|Morris|Kalouf}} In order to avoid confusion with the British breed, in 1972 the American Kennel Club changed the name of their American breed to the American Staffordshire Terrier.{{r|Morris|Wilcox}}

Despite criminalisation, illegal fights using pit bull–type dogs have continued to be widespread in the United States. In the 1990s in that country it was estimated 1,500 dogs died annually in organized fights, and by the mid-2000s it was estimated over 40,000 people were involved in the illegal blood sport.{{r|Fogle|Morris|Kalouf}} Pit bull–type dogs are also used by criminal organizations to guard illegal narcotics, and to intimidate and attack civilians, other criminals and police, the type becoming a status symbol in American [[gang culture]].{{r|Kalouf}}<ref>{{cite news|last=Cook|first=Frank|title=Pit bulls becoming drug dealers weapon of preference|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/06/29/Pit-bulls-becoming-drug-dealers-weapon-of-preference/6208551937600|date=June 29, 1987|publisher=United Press International|access-date=December 21, 2019|archive-date=December 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221182621/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/06/29/Pit-bulls-becoming-drug-dealers-weapon-of-preference/6208551937600/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first1=Al |last1=Baker |first2=Mathew R. |last2=Warren |title=Shooting highlights the risks dogs pose to police, and vice versa |date=July 9, 2009 |place=New York, NY |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/10/nyregion/10pitbull.html |access-date=January 7, 2010 |archive-date=November 16, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116022218/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/10/nyregion/10pitbull.html |url-status=live }}</ref> On the other side of the law, pit bull–type dogs have been used by [[U.S. Customs and Border Protection]] as [[drug detection dog]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |date=October 2002 |title=Cool K-9 Popsicle retires |journal=U.S. Customs Today |volume=38 |issue=#10 |url=http://www.cbp.gov/xp/CustomsToday/2002/October/k9.xml |access-date=August 7, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111024001344/http://www.cbp.gov/xp/CustomsToday/2002/October/k9.xml |archive-date=October 24, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Adrienne Mand |last=Lewin |title=Protecting the Nation — One Sniff at a Time |date=October 12, 2005 |publisher=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Terrorism/story?id=1200304&page=1 |access-date=February 2, 2009 |archive-date=March 22, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070322183804/http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Terrorism/story?id=1200304&page=1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

There is a lobby of animal rights groups that are spending millions of dollars to try to rebrand pit bulls as family dogs.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Fifth Estate: Pitbulls Unleashed |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFa8HOdegZA | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/iFa8HOdegZA| archive-date=2021-10-30|access-date=10 March 2021 |date=2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In efforts to counter negative perceptions about pit bull–type dogs, both the [[San Francisco SPCA|San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals]] and the New York City [[Center for Animal Care and Control]] have unsuccessfully attempted to rename the type.<ref>{{cite news |first=George |last=Cothran |title=Shouldn't we just kill this dog? |date=June 11, 1997 |place=San Francisco, CA |periodical=[[San Francisco Weekly]] |url=http://www.sfweekly.com/1997-06-11/news/shouldn-t-we-just-kill-this-dog |access-date=September 4, 2009 |archive-date=February 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209215548/http://www.sfweekly.com/1997-06-11/news/shouldn-t-we-just-kill-this-dog/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Clyde |last=Haberman |title=NYC; Rebrand Fido? An idea best put down |date=January 13, 2004 |place=New York, NY |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/13/nyregion/nyc-rebrand-fido-an-idea-best-put-down.html |access-date=September 4, 2009 |archive-date=May 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521175511/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/13/nyregion/nyc-rebrand-fido-an-idea-best-put-down.html |url-status=live }}</ref>