Onatario's BSL Failings are not isolated to Brampton

The Canadian Press has been all over a story today from out of Ontario, about the failings of the nation's Dog Owner Liability Act (DOLA). DOLA was passed in late August of 2005 -- and since then, there has been no change in the number of dog bites in the province. Here are the numbers:

2005- 5,428 bites

2006 - 5,360 bites

2007 - 5,492 bites

2008 - 5,463 bites

2009 - 5,345 bites

The supposed idea behind the ban was to increase the safety of the people in the province by reducing dog bites. However, the bite numbers have simply fluctuated by 1-1.5% since the ordinance was passed -- which would be just the typical year-to-year changes. 

There is certainly no downward trend.

No, what is happening is that the taxpayers are paying for good people's dogs to be confiscated -- and either shipped to Newfoundland or killed.  It's not improving people's safety. It's tearing family dogs away from families. And it's costing taxpayers money.

Toronto Humane Society Spokesman Ian McConachie commented that DOLA has failed to make ths streets safer and "targets the wrong source of the problem. Dogs are not born violent, they are made that way by irresponsible owners who train them to be that way or neglect them and they develop behavioral problems. If we want to reduce the dog bites, we have to address the route cause of the problem, those irresponsible owners who do not appropriately care for their animals."

There are a lot of questions that remain about the numbers -- but suffice it to say, there is currently no evidence that the ban is working, and a lot of evidence that people are being unnecessarily harrassed because of the ordinance and that the ordinance itself is unenforceable.

Breed bans remain an internationally failed attempt at solving the dog bite problem -- when not far away, in Calgary, we have a wonderful example of what can be done to improve public safety by focuing on irresponsible dog owners...not dog breeds. 

For more:

One Bark at a Time -Ontario Pit Bull Ban Ineffective According to THS.

Brindle Stick - Surprise, Surprise...Ontario 'pit bull' ban isn't working

For tie Pit Bulls - Ontario Dog Bites not reduced

Comments

[Mireille]

I have been reading dog bite reports for a year now, and unless I missed it, I have not seen a pet pitbull bite report yet. Most bites are from breeding and chained dogs. I could be wrong but I feel that pitbulls raised as pets are LESS likely to bite humans than other breeds...

[Lori]

Mireille, check out National Canine Research Council's info on resident dogs vs. family dogs. A lot of people would call their resident dog a "pet" but I'd never treat my pet that way!