Montreal's controversial Pit Bull ban has been suspended pending court ruling on SPCA challenge of the by-law

A Quebec judge placed a temporary hold due to outcry from local animal rights groups. The Montreal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is challenging the by-law in court.

Issues the SPCA and fellow animal rights groups have with the by-law include the broad definition of Pit Bull detailed in the ban, which could potentially lead to the euthanization of any shelter dog with a large, boxy head. The by-law will also mandate that existing pit bulls be licensed, sterilized, as well as kept on a short leash, and muzzled in public. It also requires pit bull owners to undergo a criminal background check.

Supporters of the ban say the breed is uniquely dangerous and aggressive. Statistics compiled between 1982 and 2014 and published in Animals 24-7 showed that Pit Bulls top the charts when it comes to all five categories: bodily harm, child victims, adult victims, deaths, and maimings.

Dog attack deaths and maimings, U.S. & Canada, September 1982 to December 31, 2014, by Merritt Clifton, Animals 24-7, December 31, 2014.

The push for city-wide ban resulted after 55-year-old Christiane Vadnais was mauled to death by her neighbor's dog this past June. Police are still waiting on DNA test results to confirm the attacking dog's breed.

The questions remains if whether the city-wide ban on Pit Bull breeds is the right way to tackle this problem.

Animal welfare groups contest that the likelihood of a dog attacking depends predominantly on the owner, and not the breed. "It's like taking a sledgehammer to a pea," said Liz White of the Animal Alliance of Canada. There is a considerable amount of evidence linking Pit Bulls and other "high risk" dogs to "high risk" owners.

A 2006 study from the Journal of Interpersonal Violence showed that the owners of "high risk" dog breeds were significantly more likely to have convictions for drugs, alcohol, aggressive crimes, domestic violence, and crimes involving children and firearms.

In 2011, these findings were confirmed in the Journal of Forensic Sciences, finding that "vicious dog owners were arrested, engaged in physical fights, and used marijuana significantly more than other dog owners."

Does an owner's personality affect the personality of their dog? Research suggests yes.

A collaborative study conducted between Eotvos University in Budapest, Hungary and the School of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Vienna, looked at the personalities of 389 dog owners and 518 dogs.

The study examined the "Big Five" personality traits:

1. neuroticism - sensitive vs. secure
2. extraversion - outgoing vs. reserved
3. agreeableness - friendly vs. cold
4. conscientiousness - hard working vs. easy going
5. openness - curious vs. cautious

The results showed that dogs reflected their owners personalities in four out of five of the characteristics, all but the "openness" trait.

The reasons for the similarities are unclear, but one possibility suggested by University of British Colombia's Stanley Coren, PhD is that the owner's lifestyle and interactions changes the dog's personality.

If this is true, then Montreal's problem lies with people, and not with Pit Bulls themselves. This evidence bolsters animal rights activists' call to"ban the owner, not the breed."

Article Sources

http://www.livescience.com/20511-people-prefer-agg...

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S...

Dog attack deaths and maimings, U.S. & Canada, September 1982 to December 31, 2014, by Merritt Clifton, Animals 24-7, December 31, 2014.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1556-...

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/canine-corner...

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37526015

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/04/world/americas/m...

Photo Sources

Protest photo:http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/09/27/montreal-p...

Pitbull in Bandana photo:http://hdwallpaperexpert.com/wallpaper-cute-pitbul...