Pit bull fans want Winnipeg to repeal ban on the breed
Pit bulls have been banned in Winnipeg for almost three decades, but a group of dog lovers are calling on the city to change its ways.
Ashley Reid has been training dogs for a decade. It's a labour of love that led her to a dog she calls Ranger.
He was found on the side of a highway near Norway House with a snare around his neck three years ago.
Reid said Ranger is about six now and a happy companion.
She hopes to own a pit bull one day but she would have to move out of the city to make that a reality.
"My dream is to move outside the city so I can have [one] or a bigger dream is to be able to walk one down the street without being looked at or judged," said Reid.
Winnipeg bylaws prevent people like Reid from owning a pit bull. The dogs have been banned in the city for more than 25 years. After several attacks almost 30 years ago city council moved to ban the breed along with Staffordshire Bull Terrier and American Staffordshire Terrier breeds.
Reid is one of 500 people who have signed a petition asking the city to remove the ban.
"The ban is just not fair. We're not judging on temperament and behavior we are judging based on looks," said Reid who believes the laws are now outdated.
The Winnipeg Humane Society also said the issue should be revisted.
"Where do you stop? If you ban one particular type of breed than there is always a bigger and nasty breed behind it," said spokesperson Aileen White.
White said the laws put an unfair label on an entire breed.
White said the shelter still encounters the odd pit bull. Since January of 2016 staff have adopted several of the dogs including four puppies last month.
White said the organization works hard to make sure adopting families live in communities that don't have pit bull bans, adding they can be trained like any other dog.
"Educating people and enforcement are really key... if a bad person wants a powerful dog there are many other types of dogs that they'll go to," said White.
Winnipeg Animals Services said there are more than 100,000 dogs living in Winnipeg, and less than 50 percent of owners have a licence with the city.
The chief operating officer with Animal Services, Lelan Gordon, said education and enforcement isn't the answer.
"The idea that people who are not responsible pet owners would get pit bulls and suddenly become very responsible [and] want to follow our laws, and would appear in court, and be held accountable, it's not very believable."
Gordon said he is sympathetic to people raising the issue of repealing the pit bull ban but adds the laws are about more than just protecting people.
He said it's about protecting the breed from irresponsible owners who may want the breed for inhumane reasons.
A rally is being planned for early June.
Clarification : Aileen White of the Winnipeg Humane Society says the pit bull ban should be reconsidered. An earlier version of this article said the humane society was calling for the ban to be lifted.(May 19, 2016 10:49 AM)
