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September 29, 2004 |
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Ontario Attorney General Calls for Province-wide Pit Bull Ban |
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The Canadian Kennel Club is being contacted frequently regarding the current issue raised by
the Attorney General for Ontario,Michael Bryant regarding the investigation into a ban on the dog commonly referred to as a “Pit-bull Terrier”. We encourage all interested parties to review the CKC position on Breed Specific Legislation on our website www.ckc.ca
located from the home page under BSL.
Below is a letter forwarded to The Honourable Mr.Michael Bryant on behalf of the Canadian Kennel Club and we encourage individuals to contact him directly at the following email address,michael.bryant@jus.gov.on.ca to express support for our position and provide individual comments to his office.
Our position has, since Monday August 31, when the story first broke been broadcast nationally as part of news items on Global Television, CBC Television and CTV. Regionally we have spoken out on CFTO-TV and CITY-TV in Toronto, CHCH in Hamilton and the NEWVR in Barrie Ontario. Numerous interviews with the print media have also been provided at both the local and National level including The Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail on Friday September 10.
On Thursday September 9, at the invitation of the Attorney General, and through our association with the National Companion Animal Coalition we were present at an initial exploratory roundtable discussion on the issue. As the designated spokesperson for the NCAC we presented and supported the consolidated perspective of the member groups including the CVMA, CFHS, CKC, PIJAC Canada and Agriculture/Agri-food Canada as an observer member of the NCAC.
It is our hope that The Canadian Kennel Club (as requested in the letter below) be considered as active stakeholders in conjunction with the Provincial Government during both the fact finding and decision making process ahead and that we can help prevent this ban and therefore avoid any ripple affect which would place any of our recognized breeds in jeopardy.
Again we thank you for your interest in purebred dogs and this very important issue.
The Honourable Mr. Michael Bryant
Attorney General for the Province of Ontario
Ministry of the Attorney General
720 Bay Street, 11th Floor
Toronto, ON
M5G 2K1
Your Honour,
I am contacting you on behalf of The Canadian Kennel Club and members of our organization specifically in the Province of Ontario but also speak from a National perspective regarding the issue of Breed Specific Legislation (Dangerous and/or Vicious Dog Legislation).This communication is related to a statement from your office calling for an investigation banning ownership of what are commonly referred to as Pit-bull Terriers in the province of Ontario.
The Canadian Kennel Club has been in continuous operation since 1888 and acts today as the primary registry for purebred dogs in Canada under the auspices of Agriculture/Agri-Food Canada and we are an adherent to the federal Animal Pedigree Act. Although the Canadian Kennel Club does not register the dog commonly referred to as a “Pit-bull Terrier” and consider it to be a mixed breed, we currently register 164 distinct breeds of purebred dogs, and officially recognizes approximately 700 dog clubs representing purebred dogs across Canada. We register nearly 75,000 purebred dogs a year and sanction 2,500 canine related events with individual entries reaching nearly 300,000 dogs. A ban on any specific breed of purebred dog is of serious concern to the nearly 25,000 members of the CKC across Canada as well as the general population of dog lovers who currently own non-purebred mixed breed dogs. The Canadian Kennel Club is concerned that a breed ban of any kind may result in an unfair ripple effect endangering any number of recognized breeds of purebred dogs.
Breed Specific Legislation is an issue we are very concerned with and not only within your area but right across the country. Many responsible Canadian dog owners and respected organizations are expressing their concern about banning specific breeds and the CKC encourages you to review the sample By-Laws developed by the National Companion Animal Coalition (NCAC) and the member organizations which do not support breed specific bans including the Canadian Kennel Club, Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, Canadian Federation of Humane Societies, Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council and Ministry of Agriculture. These By-Laws are posted for review on the CKC website and can be accessed directly from www.ckc.ca/BreedLegislation/main.asp.
We suggest to individuals who contact us for assistance that the best approach to dealing with the issue of Breed Specific Legislation is to be a strong well educated and visible lobby group within their own community. Visibility is accomplished by identifying meeting dates where the issue is to be discussed, attending them and if possible requesting time to speak plus contacting and soliciting support from local politicians and communicating directly with key individuals such as yourself.
Below you will find the Official Canadian Kennel Club Policy Statement regarding Breed Specific Legislation (Dangerous and/or Vicious Dogs) and on behalf of our local members who may be contacting you in person plus those individual members of the Canadian Kennel Club in all areas of Canada who support responsible ownership and are opposed to Breed Specific Legislation I am asking you to review our policy and the position of other canine related organizations associated with the NCAC.
It is important that dog owners are allowed the opportunity to be fairly heard and to represent their interests during any process of change…and that is our request.
I do appreciate the time taken to consider our position and sincerely hope an amicable result occurs. Ultimately the Canadian Kennel Club supports dangerous and/or vicious dog legislation, which would serve to protect the public from dangerous dogs but not by banning entire breeds because of the actions of an individual animal or animals.
The Canadian Kennel Club requests that our organization be considered as active participants in any stakeholder initiatives undertaken during the Provinces fact finding and decision-making process. I encourage you to review our policy below and thank you for the attention to our requests. I look forward to your reply.
Regards,
Sonny Allinson
Manager, Communications Division
The Canadian Kennel Club
(416)675-5511
THE CANADIAN KENNEL CLUB POLICY STATEMENT
BREED SPECIFIC LEGISLATION (DANGEROUS AND/OR VICIOUS DOGS)
The Canadian Kennel Club supports dangerous and/or vicious dog legislation, which would serve to protect the public from dangerous dogs. The Canadian Kennel Club does not support breed-specific legislation. The Canadian Kennel Club’s opposition to breed-specific legislation is based on the fact that a dangerous temperament is a product of many factors, and not by breed alone. Thus, breed-specific legislation may include dogs which are not dangerous, while excluding those which are.
The Canadian Kennel Club considers banning a particular type of dog as a reactionary measure with little effect, and one that will only serve to push the indiscriminate breeders and/or owners underground, or to another breed not included in the legislation.
The label of “vicious and/or dangerous” should be determined by an individual dog’s behavior, and not by its breed or appearance.
The Canadian Kennel Club believes that dog owners should be responsible for the actions of their dogs, and that laws should:
- Impose stern penalties on irresponsible owners;
- Establish a well defined procedure for dealing with dogs proven to be dangerous, which includes, if necessary, the destruction of such animals;
- The Canadian Kennel Club endorses and encourages the enforcement of:
- Leash laws;
- “Running at large” laws;
- Confinement on private property-childproof from the outside and dog-proof from the inside.
The Canadian Kennel Club will continue to support and assist those who share our concern for the protection and advancement of all breeds.
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