Coroner against breed-specific legislation
A coroner’s report into the death of a Montreal woman who was fatally mauled by a dog last summer is being positioned as further evidence the Quebec government should revise its proposed breedspecific legislation.
According to Sophie Gaillard, the lawyer for the Montreal SPCA’s animal advocacy department, the new report “adds to the pile of evidence against breed-specific measures,” and supports what the organization has been advocating for since the fatal attack.
“If we really want to solve the problem of dog bites we need to focus on evidence-based measures and not focus on the arbitrary criteria of breeds and physical appearance,” Gaillard said on Tuesday. “We need to emphasize sterilization, making owners more responsible, public education and animal welfare.”
On June 8, 2016, Christiane Vadnais was attacked by her neighbour’s dog in her Pointe-aux-Trembles backyard after it snuck through a hole in the fence.
In a report released Monday, Quebec coroner Ethan Lichtblau determined that she died from a severe loss of blood followed by cardiac arrest. She was 55.
Lichtblau’s report established the dog, named Lucifer, had been neglected, had a known history of aggression and had become so aggressive that its owner, Franklin Junior Frontal, kept it muzzled even when the animal was alone inside the house.
Frontal told police he owned the brown “pit bull,” but Lichtblau said experts could not formally identify the dog — which was shot dead by police after attacking Vadnais — as being a pit bull. DNA tests conducted said it was 87.5 per cent American Staffordshire Terrier.
Vadnais’s death set off a series of debates over animal control legislation at both the provincial and municipal levels in Quebec.
In Montreal, the city quickly announced a new bylaw that targets specific dog breeds and mixes.
The SPCA is contesting sections of the bylaw in court. The next court date is set for December.
At the provincial level, Bill 128, commonly called Quebec’s “potentially dangerous dog” bill, was introduced in April. The proposed bill aims to establish a framework regarding potentially dangerous dogs across Quebec. It would ban pit bulls and Rottweilers, and give cities the authority to euthanize any dog proved to be dangerous.
Lichtblau’s report was critical of the proposed legislation, saying its wording raises questions and calling it “disappointing.”
The coroner also recommended any legislation surrounding dangerous dogs shouldn’t focus on enforcing breed-specific measures, but rather on educating the public and on the owner’s responsibility.
According to Lichtblau, Frontal told police he often left the dog in a metal cage in his backyard for eight hours at a time.
Neighbours said they had never seen the dog walked around the neighbourhood. The dog hadn’t been properly socialized, was under-stimulated and lacked exercise, the report found.
“All of these facts suggest that the dog was neglected,” Lichtblau concluded. “These factors probably created an extremely frustrated, aggressive and violent dog.”
Gaillard said the report’s description of the dog’s treatment fortifies the SPCA’s belief that Quebec needs to bolster its animal welfare legislation and invest more in its enforcement.
“This was someone who was treating the dog in such a way that had the dog been of another breed, the dog would likely have become aggressive also,” Gaillard said.
Last November, Quebec’s Crown prosecutors’ office announced Frontal would not be charged. The Vadnais family has said it intends to pursue legal action. In media interviews this week, Vadnais’s siblings denounced the coroner’s report, taking issue with its position on banning pit bulls and criticizing Lichtblau for concluding that their sister was “simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Asked about the family’s stance, Gaillard said the SPCA understands their grief and remains just as disturbed as anyone else about the attack.
“But what we want ultimately is the same thing as the family,” she said, “which is to increase public safety.”