Hearing on SPCA lawsuit postponed until Monday
The hearing on whether to suspend Montreal’s new bylaw banning pit bulls, called for by the Montreal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, has been put off until Monday.
Lawyers for the city argued in Quebec Superior Court Thursday that they required more time to prepare for the hearing, which was initiated by a motion filed by the Montreal SPCA Wednesday afternoon, 24 hours after the city adopted the bylaw.
The SPCA is calling on the court to suspend application of sections of the bylaw that pertain to pit-bull-type dogs on the grounds they are discriminatory against dogs that are not dangerous and because the provisions are “vague and imprecise in their definition of ‘pit-bull-type dogs’ such that it is impossible to know which dogs fall into this category.’ ”
Eventually the SPCA will apply for a hearing to have those provisions overturned permanently.
The bylaw comes into effect Monday. Lawyers for the SPCA requested the hearing be held Friday at the latest because the bylaw forces owners of pit-bull-type dogs to muzzle their dogs at all times outside the house, and bans the adoption or purchase of pit-bull-type dogs as of Monday.
Judge Claude Champagne ruled the hearing must be held Monday in part because the court system lacked judges to hear the case Friday. He ordered city lawyers to present their affidavits to SPCA lawyers Friday.
Montreal city council voted Tuesday to adopt the bylaw that bans the acquisition of pit bull-type dogs starting Monday, and puts strict regulations on the owners of current dogs, in the wake of a fatal attack on a Pointe-aux-Trembles resident in June.