Toronto, ON,
Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Ontario expects to implement next year the first ban on pit
bulls in North America, the Globe and Mail reported Saturday.
Under the new
policy, opposed by the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association, owners of any
dog deemed by authorities to be dangerous or menacing could face fines of up to
$10,000 and jail sentences of up to six months. Currently, owners of such dogs
only risk prosecution if their canine actually attacks a person or another pet.
While
Britain, France and Germany have such laws, no North American state or province
does.
"Any dog
could be a dangerous dog," said Attorney-General Michael Bryant of
Ontario. He also promised legislation to ban the breeding or sale of pit bulls
and to force current owners of the dogs to have them neutered or spayed and
muzzled in public.
The Ontario
Veterinary Medical Association criticized the ban on pit bulls.
"Breed bans just don't work,"
said Gary Landsberg, a veterinarian who is president of the American College of
Veterinary Behaviorists. "Dangerous dogs are essentially a product of
irresponsible breeding and breeding-training for aggression. If you remove
so-called 'pit bulls' from the province, people who want to breed or own
vicious dogs will simply turn to other breeds."