{"id":543,"date":"2016-09-26T14:49:35","date_gmt":"2016-09-26T21:49:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chicobandido.com\/?p=543"},"modified":"2026-06-19T16:20:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T23:20:28","slug":"letter-to-montreal-city-councillors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chicobandido.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/letter-to-montreal-city-councillors\/","title":{"rendered":"Letter to Montr\u00e9al city councillors"},"content":{"rendered":"

September 23, 2016<\/p>\n

City councillors
\nMontr\u00e9al, Qu\u00e9bec<\/p>\n

Dear Sir\/Madam:<\/p>\n

In June of this year, the Dog Legislation Council of Canada offered assistance and experience to Mayor Coderre in drafting an effective animal control bylaw.<\/p>\n

Three months later, we find ourselves in the same position again – offering help and hoping for a reasonable and personal reply, rather than an automated computer-generated e-mail response.<\/p>\n

We would like to put aside, for the moment, the many arguments against breed-specific legislation such as breed identification problems, behaviour prediction by appearance, mixed breed dogs, and the targeting of purebred dogs, some of which don’t exist in the entire province of Qu\u00e9bec.<\/p>\n

We would like to focus on one thing only: Breed specific legislation does not work.<\/p>\n

It has been proven, over and over again, that breed-specific legislation fails to reduce dog bites and fails to reduce serious injuries or deaths from dog attacks.<\/p>\n

It is possible that some city councillors believe that authorities will be able to identify every “pit bull” in Montr\u00e9al or that “pit bulls” are inherently dangerous or any number of other scientifically disproven theories.<\/p>\n

To the citizens of Montr\u00e9al, to the voters of Montr\u00e9al, those theories are irrelevant.<\/p>\n

The only question they have is, “Are you going to keep us safe?”<\/p>\n

The data proves, unequivocally, that breed-specific legislation fails to do that. The experts agree, unanimously, that breed- specific legislation fails to do that.<\/p>\n

The experiences of Ontario, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Denver, Ohio, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Italy, and Australia, as well as countless municipalities throughout North America and numerous studies by scientific experts prove that breed-specific legislation costs more money, fails to improve public safety, and kills thousands of unoffending family pets based solely on the way they look.<\/p>\n

Finally, a couple of very important closing points:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Just in case some city councillors have not read the bylaw in its entirety, there are some clauses that should concern any animal lover, regardless of their position on this subject: During the transitional phase until special licensing is granted to “pit bulls”, these dogs will be required to be muzzledat all times, including inside their homes and cars. There is no exception for puppies, old dogs, sick dogs, therapy dogs, or service dogs. After the transitional phase, they will be required to be muzzled in their own backyards. There is also no exception after the transitional phase for puppies, old dogs, sick dogs, therapy dogs, or service dogs. Any animal behaviourist will tell you that the negative impact on these dogs will actually create fear and aggression that was not there before. Every “pit bull” in every shelter or rescue group in Montr\u00e9al will be required to be destroyed immediately. There is no transfer of ownership allowed so if an owner dies, their dog must be killed. There is no provision for dogs who defend their property, their owner, or themselves. Those dogs must be killed. Any dog that is found without a muzzle\/microchip\/tag or that it is picked up by animal control for any reason must be killed.<\/li>\n
  2. We’ve noticed an increase in letters to city councillors from U.S. based anti “pit bull” groups. It can be overwhelming to receive the massive amount of “data” that they send to city officials. It is important to note that these groups consist of a very small number of people who get their data from a single person in the United States. His data has been carefully analyzed and it is the conclusion of analysts and researchers that his data of bites, deaths, and canine population has been highly falsified, is incomplete and incorrect to the point of being unusable, and cannot be relied upon to make any conclusions regarding dog bites and public safety. If you would like more information about that, we would be happy to send it to you. In the meantime, his supporters (even “disciples” would not be too strong a word) inundate thousands of websites and Facebook groups with copies of this data and then distribute it to the general public through journalists such as Lori Welbourne (Vancouver Province), Barbara Kay (National Post), and Marie-Claude Malboeuf (La Presse). The latter’s “investigative reports” have now managed to become a quoted source in the working group report commissioned by the government of Qu\u00e9bec and, as such, are going to influence provincial policy decisions, all based on one man’s falsified data in the United States. That alone should worry you enough to, at the very least, delay this decision until you have had the opportunity to verify the data you are being sent.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If you would like any more information about fair and effective animal control legislation that has been proven to reduce dog bites and improve public safety, please do not hesitate to contact me.<\/p>\n

    Sincerely,<\/p>\n

    LeeAnn O\u2019Reilly
    \nPresident
    \nDog Legislation Council of Canada<\/p>\n

    Mireille Goulet
    \nQuebec Region Representative
    \nDog Legislation Council of Canada<\/p>\n

    Steve Barker
    \nHead of Research
    \nDog Legislation Council of Canada<\/p>\n

    April Fahr
    \nExecutive Director
    \nHugABull<\/p>\n

    Chantelle Mackney
    \nDirector
    \nJustice For Bullies<\/p>\n

    Debra Black
    \nFounder
    \nOntario “Pit Bull” Co-op<\/p>\n

    \n

    Le 23 septembre 2016<\/p>\n

    M. Denis Coderre,<\/p>\n

    Maire H\u00f4tel de ville<\/p>\n

    275, rue Notre-Dame Est<\/p>\n

    Montr\u00e9al (Qu\u00e9bec)<\/p>\n

    H2Y 1C6<\/p>\n

    Objet :Projet de r\u00e8glement de gestion animali\u00e8re de la Ville de Montr\u00e9al<\/p>\n

    \u00c0 tous les \u00e9lus de Montr\u00e9al :<\/p>\n

    En juin dernier, le Conseil canadien de l\u00e9gislation canine (Dog Legislation Council of Canada) a offert au maire de Montr\u00e9al, M. Denis Coderre, son assistance et son expertise \u00e0 la r\u00e9daction d’un r\u00e8glement de gestion animali\u00e8re efficace.<\/p>\n

    Trois mois plus tard, nous nous retrouvons \u00e0 nouveau dans la m\u00eame situation – celle d’offrir notre assistance, avec l\u2019espoir d\u2019une r\u00e9ponse raisonnable et personnelle, plut\u00f4t que d’une r\u00e9ponse par courriel g\u00e9n\u00e9r\u00e9e automatiquement.<\/p>\n

    Nous tenons \u00e0 mettre de c\u00f4t\u00e9, pour le moment, les nombreux arguments contre les r\u00e8glements visant des races sp\u00e9cifiques tels que les probl\u00e8mes d’identification de races, la pr\u00e9diction du comportement par l’apparence, les chiens de races crois\u00e9es et le ciblage des chiens de race pure, dont certains n’existent nulle part dans la province du Qu\u00e9bec.<\/p>\n

    Nous aimerions nous concentrer sur une seule chose:<\/p>\n

    Les r\u00e8glements visant des races sp\u00e9cifiques ne fonctionnent pas.<\/p>\n

    Il a \u00e9t\u00e9 prouv\u00e9, maintes et maintes fois, qu’un r\u00e8glement visant des races ne parvient pas \u00e0 r\u00e9duire les morsures de chien et ne parvient pas \u00e0 r\u00e9duire les blessures graves ou les d\u00e9c\u00e8s caus\u00e9s des attaques de chiens.<\/p>\n

    Il est possible que certains conseillers municipaux croient que les autorit\u00e9s seront en mesure d’identifier tous les chiens \u00ab de type pit-bull \u00bb \u00e0 Montr\u00e9al ou que les chiens \u00ab de type pit-bull \u00bb sont intrins\u00e8quement dangereux, ou un nombre quelconque d’autres th\u00e9ories scientifiquement r\u00e9fut\u00e9es.<\/p>\n

    Pour les citoyens de Montr\u00e9al – les \u00e9lecteurs de Montr\u00e9al, ces th\u00e9ories ne sont pas pertinentes.<\/p>\n

    La seule question qu’ils retiennent est: Allez-vous assurer notre s\u00e9curit\u00e9?<\/p>\n

    Les donn\u00e9es prouvent, sans \u00e9quivoque, que les r\u00e8glements sp\u00e9cifiques aux races ne parviennent pas \u00e0 le faire. Les experts sont d’accord, \u00e0 l’unanimit\u00e9, que les r\u00e8glements sp\u00e9cifiques \u00e0 des races ne parviennent pas \u00e0 le faire.<\/p>\n

    Les exp\u00e9riences de l’Ontario, de Winnipeg, de Vancouver, de Denver, de l’Ohio, du Royaume-Uni, des Pays-Bas, de l’Italie et de l’Australie, ainsi que celle d’innombrables municipalit\u00e9s \u00e0 travers l’Am\u00e9rique du Nord, et de nombreuses \u00e9tudes r\u00e9alis\u00e9es par des experts scientifiques, prouvent qu’une l\u00e9gislation sp\u00e9cifique \u00e0 la race co\u00fbte plus cher, \u00e9choue \u00e0 am\u00e9liorer la s\u00e9curit\u00e9 du public et tue des milliers d’animaux de compagnie inoffensifs bas\u00e9s uniquement sur leur apparence.<\/p>\n

    Quelques points tr\u00e8s importants en conclusion:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Advenant que certains conseillers municipaux n’aient pas lu le r\u00e8glement dans son int\u00e9gralit\u00e9, il comprend certains articles qui concernent toutes les personnes interpel\u00e9es par le bien-\u00eatre animal, quelle que soit leur position sur ce sujet: Pendant la p\u00e9riode transitoire jusqu’\u00e0 l’obtention du permis sp\u00e9cial pour un chien \u00ab de type pit-bull \u00bb, ces chiens devront \u00eatre musel\u00e9s en tout temps, y compris \u00e0 l’int\u00e9rieur de leur maison et dans la voiture. Il n’y a pas d’exception pour les chiots, les vieux chiens, les chiens malades, les chiens de th\u00e9rapie, ou les chiens d’assistance. Apr\u00e8s la p\u00e9riode de transition, ils devront \u00eatre musel\u00e9s dans leur propre cour. Il n’y a \u00e9galement aucune exception apr\u00e8s la phase de transition pour les chiots, les vieux chiens, les chiens malades, les chiens de th\u00e9rapie, ou les chiens d’assistance. Tout expert en comportement animal vous dira que l’impact n\u00e9gatif sur ces chiens va r\u00e9ellement cr\u00e9er la peur et l’agression qui n\u2019existaient pas auparavant.Chaque chien \u00ab de type pit-bull \u00bb dans les refuges ou organismes de secours animal \u00e0 Montr\u00e9al devront \u00eatre imm\u00e9diatement d\u00e9truits. Il n’y a pas de transfert de propri\u00e9t\u00e9 du permis possible : si un propri\u00e9taire meurt, le chien doit \u00eatre tu\u00e9. Il n’y a aucune disposition pour les chiens qui d\u00e9fendent leurs biens, leur propri\u00e9taire, ou eux-m\u00eames. Ces chiens doivent \u00eatre tu\u00e9s. Tout chien qui se trouve sans museli\u00e8re \/ micropuce \/ m\u00e9daille ou qui est captur\u00e9 par la fourri\u00e8re pour une raison quelconque doit \u00eatre tu\u00e9.<\/li>\n
    2. Nous avons remarqu\u00e9 une augmentation du nombre de lettres aux conseillers municipaux des groupes am\u00e9ricains anti “pit bull”. Il est important de noter que ces groupes sont constitu\u00e9s d’un tr\u00e8s petit nombre de personnes qui obtiennent leurs donn\u00e9es \u00e0 partir d’une seule personne aux \u00c9tats-Unis. Ses donn\u00e9es ont \u00e9t\u00e9 soigneusement analys\u00e9es la conclusion des analystes et chercheurs est que ces donn\u00e9es de morsures, d\u00e9c\u00e8s et population canine ont \u00e9t\u00e9 fortement falsifi\u00e9es, sont incompl\u00e8tes et incorrectes au point d’\u00eatre inutilisables, et qu’elles ne peuvent \u00eatre utilis\u00e9es pour tirer des conclusions concernant les morsures de chien et la s\u00e9curit\u00e9 publique. Si vous souhaitez plus d’informations \u00e0 ce sujet, nous serions heureux de vous en faire parvenir.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      En attendant, ses partisans (“disciples” ne serait pas un mot trop fort) inondent des milliers de sites Web et de groupes Facebook avec des copies de ces donn\u00e9es, et les distribuent au grand public par l’interm\u00e9diaire de journalistes tels que Lori Welbourne (Vancouver Province), Barbara Kay (National Post) et Marie-Claude Malboeuf (La Presse).<\/p>\n

      Les \u00ab rapports d’enqu\u00eate \u00bb de ce dernier ont m\u00eame r\u00e9ussi \u00e0 devenir une source cit\u00e9e dans le rapport du groupe de travail mandat\u00e9 par le gouvernement du Qu\u00e9bec et, en tant que tel, vont influencer les d\u00e9cisions politiques provinciales, toutes bas\u00e9es sur les donn\u00e9es falsifi\u00e9es d’un seul homme aux \u00c9tats-Unis. Cela seul devrait vous inqui\u00e9ter assez pour, \u00e0 tout le moins, retarder cette d\u00e9cision jusqu’\u00e0 ce que vous ayez eu l’occasion de v\u00e9rifier la nature des donn\u00e9es qui vous ont \u00e9t\u00e9 transmises.<\/p>\n

      Si vous souhaitez plus d’informations sur une r\u00e9glementation \u00e9quitable et efficace de gestion animali\u00e8re qui a prouv\u00e9 une diminution des morsures de chien et une am\u00e9lioration de la s\u00e9curit\u00e9 du public, n\u2019h\u00e9sitez pas \u00e0 nous contacter.<\/p>\n

      LeeAnn O\u2019Reilly
      \nPr\u00e9sidente
      \nConseil canadien de l\u00e9gislation canine<\/p>\n

      Mireille Goulet
      \nRepr\u00e9sentante R\u00e9gion Qu\u00e9bec
      \nConseil canadien de l\u00e9gislation canine<\/p>\n

      Steve Barker
      \nChef de la recherche
      \nConseil canadien de l\u00e9gislation canine<\/p>\n

      April Fahr
      \nDirectrice ex\u00e9cutive
      \nHugABull<\/p>\n

      Chantelle Mackney
      \nDirectrice
      \nJustice For Bullies<\/p>\n

      Debra Black
      \nFondatrice
      \nOntario “Pit Bull” Co-op<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Dear Sir\/Madam:<\/p>\n

      Three months after offering assistance and experience to Mayor Coderre in drafting an effective animal control bylaw, we find ourselves in the same position again – offering help and hoping for a reasonable and personal reply.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,6,31,7,8,12,16,5,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cities","category-legislation","category-montreal","category-news","category-pit-bulls","category-politics","category-responsible-ownership","category-science-and-statistics","category-solutions-bad"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chicobandido.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543","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=543"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicobandido.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":549,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicobandido.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543\/revisions\/549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chicobandido.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicobandido.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chicobandido.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}