Provincial pit bull ban upheld in Canada

OTTAWA, June 11 (UPI) -- Canada's Supreme Court Thursday refused to hear an appeal against the province of Ontario's ban on pit bull dogs, leaving the law untouched.

As is customary, the judges declined to say why they wouldn't hear the case, the Canwest News Service reported from Ottawa.

Catherine Cochrane of Toronto is an owner of a Staffordshire bull terrier who took her challenge to the high court after an Ontario Court of Appeals ruling last October that upheld the ban. Her challenge alleged the 2005 law is vague and could be used to include half-breeds and mutts, the report said.

The Ontario appeal ruling refuted Cochrane's claims.

"The total ban on pit bulls is not 'arbitrary' or 'grossly disproportionate' in light of the evidence that pit bulls have a tendency to be unpredictable and that even apparently docile pit bulls may attack without warning or provocation," the ruling said.

Ontario is the only province in Canada to ban the breed, although various municipalities across the country have similar rules, the report said.

The provincial law permitted owners to keep pit bulls born before the ban, but mandates they be neutered, muzzled and kept on a leash in public. Penalties run as high as six months in jail and a $10,000 fine, Canwest said.