Brossard to ban pit bulls following string of attacks

The City of Brossardon Montreal's South Shore is moving toban pit bulls andother similar breeds of dogs.It presented the motionat a city council meeting Tuesday evening.

The motion will be voted on next month.

The ban wouldbe phased in, and current owners of pit bulls wouldbe allowed to keep them, subject to strict conditions.

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During a yet-to-be-determined transition period, owners of banned breeds would have to have $250,000 liability insurance coverage, prove that their dog has passed an obedience courseand have their dogs fitted with a microchip.

Those dogswill have to be muzzled in public at all times and will not be permitted in city dog parks.

The list of banned breeds includes:

• Bull terrier.
• Staffordshirebull terrier.
• American pit bull terrier.
• American Staffordshireterrier.
• Any mix with these breeds.

Brossard Mayor Paul Leduc says the city created a working group to suggest changes after eight-year-old VanessaBironwas bitten in the face by a pit bull last summer.

Leduc saidhe hopes these rules will serve asa model for other municipalities.

Attack on girl spurred action

The city has been debating whether to implement breed-specific bans on dogs sinceBironwas seriously injured after she was mauled in a Brossard parklast September.

BernardBiron, Vanessa's father,thanked the city for its reaction to the attack on his daughter,which has left herparalyzed on the left side of herface.

He called on Premier Philippe Couillard and Public Security Minister Martin Coiteux to follow Brossard's lead and ban the dogs right across the province, as Ontario has done.

"I hope you will also put humans before dogs, because I think kids have the right to play in a playground without being afraid that a wild beast will jump on their throats, not just in Brossard but across Quebec," he said.

Growing calls for breed-specific legislation

In the wake of the mauling death of Christiane Vadnais last week, the province announced the creation of a working group to review all regulations currentlyin place targeting pit bulls and isn't ruling out a ban.

Vadnais, 55, was attacked by a neighbour's pit bull in her Pointe-aux-Trembles backyard.

Bironcommended the decisionbut said he thought it should have come sooner, calling Vadnais's death "unacceptable."

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"I think announcing the working group was the right approach. It's a shame it took someone's death to get there, but I think we're going in the right direction," he said.

The MontrealSPCAand othersagainst breed-specific bans saythe rootcause of violent dog attacks is the animal's owner.

Opponents to bans that target breeds and not dangerous dogs say the bans doesn't work and promotediscrimination against dogs.

Opposite directions?

Brossard'sproposedban comesweeks after five neighbouring towns lifted their pit bull bans.

Starting in August, Saint-Constant,Sainte-Catherine,Candiac,Saint-Philippe andSaint-Mathieu will allow pit bulls and instead go after dangerous dogs, defined as a dogthat:

• Bites, triesto bite, attacks or triesto attack a person or another animal.
• While off itsowner'sproperty,manifests aggression towardsa person or an animal by snarling, growling, showing its teeth, barking ferociously or acting in any way that suggeststhedog may bite or attack.

When asked about the discrepancy between thedirection Brossard isgoing in versusits neighbouring municipalities, Leduc defended hiscity's proposal.

"I think the measures we're taking are very concrete, and we're confident in what we're doing," he said.