Longueuil adopts pit bull ban
Quebec City, Sherbrooke backtrack on proposed measures for dog owners
The City of Longueuil voted in favour of a bylaw banning pit bulls as other Quebec municipalities start to back down on similar proposed regulations.
Longueuil proposed the new rules in June following a series of pit bull attacks in the Montreal area, including the mauling of a 55-year-old woman who died in Pointe-aux-Trembles.
City council adopted the bylaw on Tuesday night.
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The new bylaw will ban the breed and other pit bull mixes starting July 15.
Residents who already own a pit bull will be allowed to keep their dogs, but will face a number of new requirements:
- Have their dog licensed by Oct. 1, 2016.
- Have their dog sterilized and microchipped.
- Have their dog certified as safe by a veterinarian.
- Take their dog to an obedience course.
- Keep their dogs on a leash and muzzled.
- Keep their dogs out of dog parks.
- Dogs may only be walked by someone over the age of 18.
Montreal and a number of cities around Quebec also recently announced bans, but Quebec City Mayor Régis Labeaume announced Monday that he was backing down from his plan to prohibit pit bulls by 2017.
Quebec City and Sherbrooke have both decided to wait for the province to decide on new regulations before moving forward with stricter measures for dog owners.