The Quebec Court of Appeal has lifted the suspension on Montreal’s controversial new animal control bylaw with the city agreeing to avoid ‘irreparable harm’, which means all pit bulls and pit bull type dogs in Montreal now need to wear a muzzle in public.
The bylaw was temporarily suspended in October by Justice Louis Gouin who found the bylaw terms raised red flags (such as how you identify a pit bull type dog) and merited further review, which the city appealed.
The city’s council will meet to set out the time frame for owners to register their dogs later this month.
As part of the appeal process, the city has agreed not to euthanize any pit bull-type dogs (find out more about how the city intend to identify a pit bull type dog here), unless they are found to be dangerous, show signs of becoming dangerous, or if they are stray, sick or badly hurt.
Shelters will also be allowed to return lost pit bulls to their owners as long as they do not fall into any of the above categories.
But the law may still be overturned as Montreal’s SPCA are still eager to set a date where they can argue their points against implementing the bylaw at the Superior Court.
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