Adjudication No. 909 (February 1997) [1997] APC 10

ADJUDICATION No. 909 (February 1997)

The Australian Press Council has dismissed a complaint by the American Pit Bull Terrier Association of Queensland against The Chronicle, Toowoomba, about an article of 13 November 1996.

The article, headlined Pit bulls banned, reported a Toowoomba City Council decision to allow itself the power to declare a breed of dog prohibited.

The story's introduction said, "The family of a 79 year old woman mauled to death by a cross-bred pit bull terrier clapped and cried as ... Council last night moved to ban the breed from the city".

The association argued that the animal was not an American Pit Bull Terrier or even necessarily a cross with such a breed and that The Chronicle had been made aware of this.

The Press Council believes that the paper acted fairly on information supplied by police, a veterinarian and the mother of the animal's owner and that both its November 13 article and a November 14 editorial were balanced reporting and legitimate comment on a City Council decision.