Montreal-area city planning to ban pit bulls after attack on girl last year

BROSSARD, Que. – The father of a young girl who suffered horrific injuries when she was mauled by a pit bull is lauding a Montreal-area city’s intention to ban the breed.

“These regulations will lead to lives being saved and will help avoid attacks,” Bernard Biron said Tuesday.

“Children have the right to play in a park without being scared of being attacked by an animal.”

Biron was attending a news conference alongside Brossard Mayor Paul Leduc, who said he hopes the city will implement the ban as of July 5. It would also extend to any dogs that are part pit bull.

The bylaw would allow current pit-bull owners to keep their dogs but they will have to register the animal and make sure it has a licence. The canine will require a microchip and a muzzle and will not be allowed in parks.

Owners will also be required to have insurance liability coverage of at least $250,000.

Brossard has seven declared pit bulls on its territory and no new ones will be allowed.

Leduc said violators will face heavy fines, although he did not know how much they will be.

Biron expressed hope that Premier Philippe Couillard and Public Security Minister Martin Coiteux will adopt a similar plan for the entire province.

He said his daughter Vanessa is getting better after last September’s attack in a Brossard park.

“She’s doing fine despite everything that happened,” he said. She’s very brave.”

The girl, who was 8 at the time, suffered a fractured skull and a broken hand. The muscles on the left side of her face were savagely mauled and she had seven fractures to a bone in her cheek.

The proposed ban is the result of the vicious attack on the girl and comes a week after a 55-year-old Montreal woman was found dead after being attacked by a pit bull.

The dog escaped from a nearby residence before it attacked Christiane Vadnais.

Ontario adopted a provincewide ban on pit bulls about 10 years ago. They are also forbidden in several municipalities in Quebec and across Canada.