Breeders challenge Ontario pit bull law

OTTAWA, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Canadian dog-breeding groups plan a legal challenge to an Ontario ban on pit bulls and similar breeds.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reports the plaintiffs, including the American Staffordshire Club of Canada, say the law is so vague it affects breeders' constitutional rights.

The ban includes several breeds -- Staffordshire bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers and American pit bull terriers -- as well as any other dog with "an appearance and physical characteristics substantially similar to any of those dogs."

Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant pushed for the ban after a number of recent attacks by pit bulls -- including an incident in which two pit bulls attacked a friend of the owner who was walking them as a favor. The dogs were shot by police.

In another attack, a man's arm was bitten as he tried to shield his family's puppy.