MAUMELLE, Ark. — The battle of the breeds is back to being a hot topic of conversation in Central Arkansas.
Someone in Maumelle plastered their opinion on pit bulls for everyone to see, asking the city to ban the breed again.
Pit bulls kill — that's the message an anonymous person is trying to get across through a billboard in Maumelle. The city lifted its violent dog breed ban in 2021, but the sign shows some people want it back.
"I'm very much concerned about the safety of our residents and our children especially," Councilmember Steve Mosley said.
Mosley said he wants the ban to be reinstated and has tried multiple times to bring it back, but it keeps getting voted down.
"I think it's just in their nature and they're extremely dangerous dogs that can do significant damage in just a matter of seconds, "Mosley said. "I saw this occur on a family dog. A poodle got attacked by a pit bull and in a matter of three seconds, had torn skin completely off. They're just very powerful animals."
Unlike Mosley, Maumelle Councilmember Chad Gardner is on the opposite of the discussion and said he feels a lot of the community supports pit bulls.
"There's no need to pick on any specific dog just because of the way it looks and not allow them to be pets here in Maumelle," Gardner said. "I've seen a lot more public support for the way that we're doing it, but I think there is a vocal minority of a few individuals that want there to be a breed ban."
Gardner said he hasn't seen a call for change despite the billboard.
"Frankly, I think it backfired on whoever put it up," Gardner said. "Most of the comments have been supportive of the way Maumelle is doing it. Now. We've focused more on owner education and owners taking care of their specific animal no matter what the breed is."
Gardner expects to continue hearing conversations regarding the dog breed ban.
"I don't know why a specific breed got a label that it did," Gardner said. "We have problems with all breeds at one point or another."
Even though the billboard says to call the mayor's office, the city is not affiliated with the billboard.
According to city officials, there is no immediate plan for the board to bring up the ban again.