In Calgary, pit bulls are OK; bad owners, not so much

[The City of Montreal has voted for a pit bull ban this week, while Calgary’s bylaw holds owners responsible for aggressive animals. CBC NEWS]

Recent pit bull attacks in Quebec have prompted cities in the province to consider following the lead of much of the rest of Canada in banning the controversial dog breed. But Calgary has long followed a different path when it comes to dog attacks.

“We have what’s called a Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw that actually doesn’t differentiate between any type of animal, not just dogs,” says Alvin Murray, the city’s chief bylaw officer.

“For example, last year we investigated a snake biting a person, we investigated a camel biting a person. If there’s an aggressive act, we deal with it.”

Not that camel attacks are a major concern in Calgary, but the point is that the focus for Calgary is on holding owners responsible for aggressive animals.

It’s a strategy that veers sharply from the response of much of the rest of the country, where aggressive breeds like pit bulls have been outright banned in several cities and provinces.

Ontario famously banned the breed in 2005, and Montreal said last week it will implement similar rules to Ontario, banning the acquisition of pit bulls, but allowing existing ones to remain under strict new rules. The changes follow a fatal pit bull attack on 55-year-old Christiane Vadnais in June. Quebec City has also talked about banning the breed by next year.

But Calgary takes the position that breed bans miss the point, unfairly targeting certain dogs, rather than tackling the real issue: owners that either can’t control their pets, or deliberately train them to be aggressive.

“All dog bites, all types of aggression need to be dealt with, no matter what type of animal or breed it is. That’s our philosophy: to put the accountability on the owners,” says Murray.

This includes an aggressive enforcement policy that can see fines rise sharply depending on the circumstances surrounding an animal attack.

“For example, if a dog bites a person, the specified penalty is $350. But if we look at that bite and determine that this is not just your standard dog nipping a person, this is a serious bite, we’re going to issue a mandatory court appearance,” he says.

“Because we’re going to go into the court and we’re going to be asking the judge to… significantly increase those fines.”

The statistics of the effectiveness of breed bans are mixed. A 2012 study by the University of Manitoba found that the number of hospitalizations from dog bites decreased after Winnipeg banned pit bulls in 1990. However, Toronto statistics show that, while pit bull attacks went down sharply after the breed was outlawed in 2005, a rise in dog attacks by other breeds since then has more than made up for it.

And the books may not be closed on the pet strategy in Calgary. The idea of a breed ban has been a topic of public debate in Calgary as dog attack numbers have risen in the last few years.

Murray said one of unexpected byproducts of the city’s approach is an increase in the number of rescued dogs being brought into the city, many of them from the United States.

“We’ve seen an increase in the number of aggressive incidents involving those rescue dogs that are being brought in,” he said, noting that the vast majority of the dogs have been pit bulls.

“Am I concerned that we’re seeing an influx of them? Yes, I am.”

The bylaw will be up for council review next year, which could open the door to changes, he said.