MONTREAL COUNCIL BANS PIT BULLS
montreal» In July a dog that police identified as a pit bull mauled 55-year-old Christiane Vadnais to death in the Pointe-Aux-Trembles neighborhood.
Responders pronounced Vadnais dead at the scene, and officers shot and killed the animal.
Vadnais’ family demanded a response. Serge Vadnais, her brother, asked the Quebec government to ban dangerous dog breeds: “As soon as possible, not in two years, now,” he said. Since 2005, the province of Ontario has banned pit bulls, and Quebec and Montreal were considering similar legislation.
The tragedy spurred the city to action. On Tuesday, the City Council voted 37-23 in support of a bylaw put forth by the mayor’s office. It will be illegal for anyone to acquire a pit bull in the city. If the pit bulls are not grandfathered in, they face euthanasia. Montreal’s pit bulls must be vaccinated, sterilized and microchipped. In public, owners need to muzzle their pits and to keep them on a leash no longer than 4 feet.
Such breed-specific laws are condemned by those who say the rules are ineffective and unfairly target certain dogs based on appearance. The American Bar Association and the American Veterinary Medical Association oppose breed-specific bans. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially recommends against the legislation as well. The Obama administration echoed the CDC position in 2013. The Associated Press