Ontario set to ban all pit bulls
Current owners can keep dogs
But animals need muzzles in public

RICHARD BRENNAN
QUEEN'S PARK BUREAU

The Ontario government is banning pit bulls as part of tough new rules for vicious dogs.

But it will be some time before the province is free of them — present owners will be allowed to keep their dogs.

"We are going to ban pit bulls province-wide and we are going to require that existing pit bulls be muzzled in public," a government source said yesterday.

Legislation amending the Dog Owners Liability Act will be introduced later this month, and will define which breeds are considered pit bulls, the source added.

It will be the first province-wide or state-wide ban in North America. Only those who already own pit bulls will be allowed to keep them until they die.

"Existing pit bulls will be (exempt), but there will be tough restrictions, including muzzling them in public," the source said.

The ban comes in response to several vicious attacks over the past year on both people and dogs that have resulted in serious injury.

Ontario Attorney-General Michael Bryant promised action on dangerous dogs in September, after a round-table meeting with victims of pit bull attacks, humane society members, dog trainers, and officials from cities with curbs on aggressive animals. He also called for input via e-mail from the public.

"The public support for this ban has been overwhelming," the source said. "He (Bryant) received more than 5,000 e-mails, the majority of them in favour of a ban. He heard loud and clear that people want to be protected from pit bulls.

"The public outcry started with that attack in Toronto," the source said, referring to a particularly vicious attack by two dogs on a 25-year-old man, who suffered extensive leg, back and arm injuries. The man was attacked in August, while walking the dogs for their out-of-town owner.

Police were forced to fire 16 bullets into the two dogs, and had to use a mattress to suffocate one. Both dogs died.

The provincial law will not prevent municipalities, some of which already have bans, from imposing their own rules in addition to the legislation.

The bylaw in Kitchener, where pit bulls have been banned, defines a pit bull as a dog of any age identifiable by the Humane Society as any one of the following breeds or mixed breeds: pit bull terrier; American pit bull terrier; pit bull; Staffordshire bull terrier (unless registered with the American or Canadian Kennel Club) and American Staffordshire terrier (unless registered with the American or Canadian Kennel Club).

The source said the proposed legislation would increase fines for owning a dangerous dog to $10,000 from $5,000. The province will also be redefining the legal meaning of dangerous dog.

And it will also impose for the first time a jail sentence of six months for owners of dogs "that bite, attack or pose a threat to public safety."

"Right now, if a person has a neighbour that lets his dog lunge at them ... the neighbour can't do anything until it actually attacks someone in their family. But with this, if a person has a menacing dog, they will face a fine or jail time," the source said.

Bryant is "convinced that the majority of people want a ban and want increased protections, so that's why he's doing it," the source said.

Bryant was also concerned that because many municipalities were either introducing a ban or considering one, there would be a "patchwork" of rules across the province, resulting in neighbouring communities becoming dumping grounds for the unwanted or illegal pit bulls.

Under the Ontario Municipal Act, municipalities have the right to ban dog breeds.




there is an online petition if anyone is interested
http://www.petitiononline.com/newban2/petition.htmlstory