The city of Calgary is asking citizens whether or not it should be cracking down on the owners of pit bulls..“It is important to note that while pit bulls are not involved in more bite incidents than other dog breeds, the reason they are listed here is because a pitbull’s strength allows the potential for a more severe bite,” the city says in a survey currently before the public..“An update to the Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw ensures that The City of Calgary is reaching as many pet owners as possible and is creating effective compliance and education by recognizing new trends that will impact Calgarians and businesses.. Defying crackdown, hundreds march against lockdowns in Calgary .Calgary’s pet bylaw hasn’t been update for 12 years..A whole section of the survey is taken over by pit pull breeds..As for the breed, the city is including pit bull terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, American pit bull terriers or a dog that has an appearance and physical characteristics that are substantially similar..Calgarians are asked to chose amongst the following:. Screen-Shot-2020-08-20-at-12.33.24-PM .There is no discussion about banning the breed from city limits which has been talked about over the years..The city has long held a position that harsh rules against the breed don’t work..“I don’t support breed bans because they don’t work,” said Bill Bruce, the former director of animal services for the city of Calgary, whose animal-control program is considered among the most effective in North America..“We have to get to the root of the problem, and that is that people must maintain control of their animals,” Bruce said in an interview with the Montreal Gazette..Calgary pit bull owners are already taking to social media in protest..The city is also exploring the use of “an early warning system for aggressive dogs..“This is a bandana colour program using the colors (sic) of traffic lights. This makes it easier for young children to understand and it is intended to give owners the opportunity to indicate to others how their dog should be approached,” the city says..The city is also asking about the number of pets each person can own..“A pet limit would be six (6) dogs AND six (6) cats per household,” says its proposal..The city is also asking how many pigeons each person should be allowed to have at their home..Feedback from the survey will be used to update bylaw amendments before presenting to council between Jan. and April 2021..The study can be found here..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.TWITTER: Twitter.com/nobby7694
