{"id":454,"date":"2014-05-02T21:16:57","date_gmt":"2014-05-03T04:16:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chicobandido.com\/?p=454"},"modified":"2014-05-04T14:51:15","modified_gmt":"2014-05-04T21:51:15","slug":"million-mutt-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chicobandido.com\/blog\/2014\/05\/million-mutt-media\/","title":{"rendered":"Ontario Million Mutt March: Toronto, May 3, 2014. Just in time for elections!!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Media Release \u00a0– \u00a0May 1, 2014 (courtesy of Yvette Van Ve<\/strong>en)<\/b><\/p>\n

Ontario Dog Walk Reminds Of Missed Opportunity for Increased Safety<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dog lovers in Ontario are set to converge Saturday on Queen\u2019s Park for The Million Mutt March to End B.S.L.. \u00a0While many might recognize the event as a call to action to repeal breed banning in Ontario, event organizers from the Ontario \u201cPit Bull\u201d Co-op and B.S.L. Advocacy and Awareness say there is a bigger message. \u00a0They say that each year the ban continues is a missed opportunity at enacting effective strategies to reduce dog bites.<\/em><\/p>\n

In 2005 the Ontario Liberal Government amended the Dog Owner\u2019s Liability Act. \u00a0As part of this controversial bill, the government passed a ban on a variety of rare breeds and mixed breed dogs with similar physical attributes.<\/p>\n

The Million Mutt March will be out in full force reminding citizens and government officials that more effective solutions exist. \u00a0Those opposed to breed bans contend that every tragedy confirms that the \u201cPit Bull\u201d ban is not working. \u00a0Says Angella Robbins, one of the Co-op\u2019s spokespersons\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cNoted industry experts warned the government that breed bans would not work. \u00a0More importantly, experts provided an alternate solution based on the successful City of Calgary model and the Courtney Trempe inquest. \u00a0How long do we have to wait – how many tragedies do we have to read about – before the government hears what experts have said all along?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Highlights of the Calgary model include a dramatic decrease in dog bites. \u00a0Protesters of the ban want that same level of safety here in Ontario.<\/p>\n

The Calgary model first seeks to prevent incidents through licensing, leash enforcement and education. \u00a0No breed is exempt. \u00a0Calgary holds all dog owners accountable and responsible. \u00a0They do all this with zero taxpayer funding. \u00a0By contrast, Ontario\u2019s system focuses on punitive measures, applied selectively and inconsistently after an injury has occurred. \u00a0Robbins goes on to point out…<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Co-op\u2019s goal is encourage laws that work. \u00a0This means that all dog owners, regardless of breed, would be held to the same standard. \u00a0Our focus is injury prevention. \u00a0We are average Ontario families, dog owners, mothers and fathers with children of our own. \u00a0Many of our members do not own banned breeds. \u00a0We have one thing in common. We care about safety and equal treatment under the law for all dog owners.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

One thing is certain, the only issue is safety. \u00a0The Breed Ban in Ontario is a sad story that illustrates what could have been. \u00a0Had the Provincial Government embraced a Calgary style model instead of a ban, Ontario could have already been experiencing a dramatic drop in dog bites.<\/p>\n

\"Calgary_Toronto_Bites\"<\/a><\/p>\n

(Please click on the photo for a larger version)<\/p>\n

According to dog behaviour consultant Yvette Van Veen\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe children are victims. \u00a0The dogs are victims. \u00a0The taxpayers are victims. \u00a0The responsible owners falsely accused are victims. \u00a0Simply put, breed bans do not work.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

As each year passes, event organizers and participants continue to remind Ontario residents that it\u2019s not too late. \u00a0The sooner we adopt a successful model, the sooner we can start seeing a drop in dog bite incidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Debbie Black<\/td>\nZelda Nista<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Co-founder Ontario \u201cPit Bull\u201d Co-op<\/td>\nFounder BSL Awareness<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
rockapuppy@yahoo.ca<\/a><\/td>\nlynnmydogz@gmail.com<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
416-260-5745<\/td>\n905-473-5784<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

-30-<\/p>\n

For details on the march, please visit https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/1400137056867120\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ontario Dog Walk Reminds Of Missed Opportunity for Increased Safety – Dog lovers in Ontario are set to converge Saturday on Queen\u2019s Park for The Million Mutt March to End B.S.L..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,6,13,3,8,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-eventsfundraisers","category-legislation","category-media","category-ontario","category-pit-bulls","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chicobandido.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chicobandido.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chicobandido.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicobandido.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicobandido.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=454"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicobandido.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":460,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicobandido.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454\/revisions\/460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chicobandido.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicobandido.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicobandido.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}