Dear
Critter Chatter:
I am the proud guardian of an
American staffordshire terrier mix who
was adopted three years ago from a Toronto
animal shelter. She is spayed, licensed
and microchipped. She is also obedience
and agility trained, plays mannerly
with all the dogs in our local designated
dog park and has never bitten anyone.
From what I understand, we will have
to muzzle her anytime she is off our
property as of Aug. 29. We find this
new law outrageously unfair and heard
there was a group we could join that
is fighting breed-specific legislation.
Do you know anything about this group?
- Mirror Reader
Dear Reader:
The group you are asking about is
the Dog Legislation Council of Canada
(DLCC), which has been actively campaigning
against Breed Specific Legislation
(BSL) since 2003.
Founders LeeAnn O'Reilly and Sandra
Alway saw that breed-specific legislation,
although, unsupported by facts or
statistics, was spreading across Canada
at a ferocious rate.
They recognized the need for an organization
that would provide responsible dog
owners with the resources to oppose
the legislation.
Together they formed the national,
all-volunteer, not-for-profit Dog
Legislation Council of Canada. The
council launched campaigns to defeat
the legislation in smaller communities
in Saskatchewan and Manitoba as well
as the City of Windsor.
Ontario is the council's first "big
city" challenge and although
legislation passed, it did so only
narrowly by a vote of four to three.
"In 2004, BSL reared its ugly
head in Ontario," said council
member Dianne Singer. "Despite
an unwavering mission to introduce
the ban, (Attorney General Michael
Bryant) has not to date presented
one single fact supporting BSL in
Ontario."
The members of the council embarked
on a prolific letter writing campaign
protesting the proposed legislation
and government statements that portrayed
the owners of pit bull terriers as
criminals and their dogs as uncontrolled
beasts.
Council representatives and members
participated in polls, signed petitions
and spoke with the media to drive
home the message that responsible
dog owners should not be punished
and that legislators should "Ban
the deed, not the breed."
The Ontario government responded
to the unprecedented public outcry
and called four days of public hearings.
The expert evidence and experience
freely offered at these hearings were
spurned by the Ontario Liberals, and
they proceeded to railroad legislation
through the Legislature and Royal
Assent.
But the battle has not ended.
In fact, it has just begun and the
council encourages all responsible
dog owners to join the council, protect
the rights of responsible dog owners
and to promote the enactment of effective
laws regarding irresponsible and criminal
dog owners.
Visit doglegislationcouncilcanada.org
for details.
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