Student sinks her teeth into 'unfair' dog laws

This article can be read in the Vancouver Sun.

Student sinks her teeth into 'unfair' dog laws
Pit bull owner says the only thing that reduces dog bites is responsible ownership, not breed-specific laws
Nicholas Read, Vancouver Sun
Published: Thursday, July 20, 2006

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"In this country, you're supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. Unless you're a pit bull, which means you're guilty until proven innocent."

So says Simon Fraser University PhD candidate and pit bull owner Niki Huitson, whose master's thesis for the university's criminology department says breed-specific bylaws penalize dogs -- like pit bulls -- unfairly.

"They are not effective in reducing dog bites, which is supposed to be their goal," Huitson said.

Her research looked at the incidence of dog bites across Canada and the U.S., and found the only thing that worked was responsible dog ownership.

"By banning dogs, you're not reaching the owners, which are the problem," Huitson said.

In the Lower Mainland, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Delta, New Westminster and West Vancouver all have breed-specific bylaws, meaning pit bulls must be muzzled when in public and kept indoors or in prescribed outdoor enclosures.

Ontario has a similar province-wide bylaw, in addition to insisting that all pit bulls be neutered.

"Is that going to reduce dog bites in Ontario? No," says Huitson.

"Because there are statistics from England that say when they introduced a similar breed ban there, it didn't reduce dog bites at all."

As an example of a jurisdiction that works, she cites Calgary, which considers a dog dangerous only when it has attacked a person or another dog without provocation.

"In Calgary, 92 per cent of dog owners register their dogs. "And they have the least restrictive dog laws there are. They have the most off-leash parks and the most areas where dogs can be free. And yet they have the lowest number of dog bites."

She attributes that to a system of stiff fines that penalize the owner, not the dog.

Vancouver came to the same conclusion last November when it did away with its breed-specific bylaw in favour of one similar to Calgary's.

"We recognized it's not just pit bulls; any dog can be a vicious dog," said Bob Cristofoli, supervisor of field operations for Vancouver Animal Control.

"They all have 42 teeth, and they all have the capability of biting."