Clarifications Regarding Bill 132 in Ontario

I'm going to list a few things here in the hope of clearing up some confusion that seems to popping up as a result of various posts to a number of different message boards. Please keep in mind that the ONLY things we have available to us right now are the text of Bill 132, various public statements by the Attorney General, and some statements made to one of our members by the Attorney General's office.

Everything below is as I understand Bill 132 after its third reading. I'm not a lawyer, but most of this Bill is clear enough, with a few exceptions.

1. No date of enforcement has been officially announced. The Attorney General has publicly stated that the date of enforcement will be late summer or early fall 2005. Until that date, nothing has changed in Ontario regarding pit bulls.

2. The date of enforcement is to be determined by the Lieutenant Governor, in consultation with the Premier and his Cabinet. It is likely to be announced (along with the publication of regulations) at the end of March or beginning of April.

3. The regulations regarding pit bulls have not been officially published and are not likely to be available until the end of March or later. These regulations may include, but may not be limited to: leashing and muzzling, spaying or neutering, dog shows, etc. Only when these regulations are published will we know the full extent of our legal obligations.

4. A "restricted" pit bull is a pit bull type dog that is owned by a resident of Ontario on or before the date of enforcement or that was born within 90 days after that date. This is a LEGAL dog.

5. A "restricted" pit bull may be given to anyone outside the province, but may also be given (not sold) to someone in the province if that person has never owned a pit bull before or does not end up owning more pit bulls than they had when the Bill took effect. So, if one of your existing dogs dies, you can replace it with another one as long as the new one falls under the umbrella of "restricted" pit bull (see point 4 above). Anyone who has never owned a pit bull before can be given one, as long as it's already a legal pit bull.

6. Pit bulls born after the 90-day grace period are not legal and can be confiscated. It should be noted that pit bulls living outside the province may not be imported after the Bill comes into force. There is some conflict between the Dog Owners Liability Act and the Animals for Research Act as to what is done with these dogs after confiscation. One section says they must be killed. Another says that the pound can adopt them to someone outside Ontario, destroy them, or sell them for research. One of the biggest issues I see with the pit bull identification part of the law is that, a year from now, if you adopt a puppy of uncertain heritage that "looks like a pit bull", you can follow all the rules you want but the dog may still be declared illegal.

7. A pit bull is never allowed to bite or menace a person or other animal. If it does so, it must be destroyed. There is no other choice, regardless of why the dog did what it did. Extenuating circumstances are considered for other breeds.

8. If the court determines that your dog is a "pit bull" and you have violated the rules (regulations) regarding pit bulls, then it appears that the dog must be destroyed. The regulations have not yet been published, so we don't know what all the rules are going to be. There may also be some conflict between the Dog Owners Liability Act and the Animals for Research Act as to what happens to the dog if it ends up in the possession of a pound.

9. The regulations may proscribe muzzling or other restrictions, but we don't know what the regulations are yet. We can assume from the Attorney General's public statements that leashing, muzzling, and spay/neuter will be in there, but we don't know what else may be in the regulations.

10. If shelters, humane societies, SPCA, or rescue organizations are considered "owners" of the dogs that they already have (this isn't entirely clear), then they would be allowed to transfer the dogs (as long as they're not "selling" the dogs) to people in Ontario who fit the acceptable profile (see point 5 above). They can also transfer them to people outside the province. The Attorney General's office has stated to the media that shelters will still be allowed to adopt out pit bulls after the law comes into effect. We have no idea if charging adoption fees is considered "selling".

11. The dogs that are already in the pounds may transferred to people both inside and outside the province. The people in the province must fit the acceptable profile for pit bull owners (see point 5 above). The pounds also have the option of destroying the dog or selling it for research.

12. Any "restricted" pit bulls (i.e., legal) obtained by the pound after the law comes into effect appear to be treated the same way as point 11. There is some conflict as to whether or not these dogs can be returned to their owners (for example, if the dog accidentally gets loose and is picked up by Animal Control). If the owner is charged under clause 6 (e) of the Act (allowing a pit bull to stray), then subsection 4 (9) of the Act would apply and the dog would have to be destroyed. If Animal Control picks the dog up, but the owner isn't charged under the Dog Owners Liability Act, then it is possible that the dog might be returned to the owner, but there are definitely conflicts regarding this issue within Bill 132's changes to the Animals for Research Act.

13. Any illegal pit bulls obtained by the pound must be transferred to someone outside the province, destroyed or sold for research. They cannot be given to someone inside Ontario.

14. Owners of illegal pit bulls are not allowed to transfer them anywhere except to a pound or designated facility.

15. After the date of enforcement, don't leave Ontario for more than three months with your pit bull. You will not be allowed to bring the dog back in. If you are a resident of Ontario, but you own a pit bull that happens to be outside of Ontario on the date of enforcement, you will only have three months to get that dog back to Ontario.

Basically, the terms of your responsibility as a dog owner can be summarized as follows:

1. You must be in control of your dog (regardless of breed).
2. You must not allow your dog (regardless of breed) to bite or menace a person or domestic animal.
3. You must take reasonable precautions to ensure that your dog (regardless of breed) doesn't do those things.
4. If you own a legal pit bull, you must follow all regulations regarding pit bulls (as yet unpublished).
5. You are not allowed to own a pit bull if it was born after the 90-day grace period. You are not allowed to import a pit bull.
6. If you're not sure if your dog is a pit bull, but feel that it could be mistaken for one, then unless you can prove it isn't a pit bull, you should probably follow the regulations regarding pit bulls.

There are other parts of the Bill that discuss the powers of peace officers, who those peace officers can be, when they need a warrant and when they don't, etc. These can generally be covered by the following statements:

1. If an officer believes that you have contravened any of the legislation's requirements and your dog is in public, he/she may immediately seize your dog and send it to the pound.
2. If an officer believes that you have contravened any of the legislation's requirements, he/she can get a warrant to enter any premises (including your home) and use as much force as is necessary against you or the dog in order to seize the dog.
3. If an officer believes that there are emergency circumstances, which can include but are not limited to the threat of immediate serious harm to a person or domestic animal, he/she can enter any premises (including your home), without a warrant, and use as much force as is necessary against you or the dog in order to seize the dog.

There is no mention in the Bill of how the officer must come to believe the above things (i.e., no requirement that he/she must witness the offence). It is entirely possible that the officer accept the word of a neighbour or "interested party" that the offence has occurred.

For more information, please visit www.doglegislationcouncilcanada.org

Steve Barker
Ontario Director
Dog Legislation Council of Canada