Ontario to criminalize pit bull ownership

TORONTO, 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."