Ontario Must Repeal BSL

What is your nationality? Are you Irish, Turkish, German, Canadian? What if I told you that because one of your fellow countrymen committed a crime the government was going to round up everyone of your nationality and incarcerate or euthanize them. Simply because of their nationality and the fact that they MIGHT commit a crime thousands perhaps millions of people would be banned from existence all because of one bad apple. "Ridiculous" you'd say."That would never happen." Perhaps not, but in Ontario if you're a pit bull the above is reality.

Since August 29th, 2005 Pit bulls and pit bull mixes have been a banned breed in Ontario. Since that date it has been illegal to take possession of or breed a pit bull in Ontario. Dogs already living in the province prior to the breed ban could stay but only if owners followed some very strict conditions set out by the province.  Problem is, the law's definition is so broad that many dogs who have no "pit" in them have been targeted and either euthanized or forced to leave the province unless their owners could prove in court they were not pit bulls.

Under this legislation, a pit bull is defined as a Staffordshire bull terrier, an American Staffordshire terrier, an American pit bull terrier or any dog that has an appearance and physical characteristics that are "substantially similar" to those dogs. That definition is broad enough to include a wide range of dogs, the vast majority of which have never bitten anyone.

This coming Sunday will mark  five years since the controversial pit bull ban came into effect in Ontario, critics are still fighting to have the legislation overturned, arguing that it has led to the unwarranted deaths of hundreds of dogs yet has not decreased the number of dog attacks. One of the people leading the fight is Ontario MPP Cheri DiNovo, who introduced a private member's bill urging the immediate removal of the amendment targeting pit bulls in the Dog Owner's Liability Act. "This legislation is just so wrong-headed," said DiNovo, who represents a Toronto NDP riding. "This idea of mass euthanization of a particular breed due to silly legislation is simply cruel." DiNovo plans to celebrate the anniversary of Bill 132s inception by rallying supporters in a protest aimed at overturning the amendment.

On Sunday August 29th, 2010 pit bull owners and pit bull lovers alike will meet at noon in Coronation Park in Toronto to protest the breed ban. I urge all of you to attend and show your support we must end BSL in Ontario before more innocent animals die simply because someone decided they look like pit bulls. In the very near future I will call upon all of you to sign a petition, or perhaps send an email. When the time comes I hope I can count on your support.

For those of you who do not clearly understand why overturning the breed ban is so important, I leave you with the following images of what one city's BSL laws resulted in:

Is mass murder really the answer? Join the Let's Adopt! Canada network on Facebook and help us tell The Canadian government that dogs should not be killed because of breed.