Animal welfare a priority in bylaw

Choke chains will be banned, a list of potentially dangerous dogs will be made public, and pet stores will only be permitted to sell shelter dogs.

Those are some of the elements of the city ’s animal-control bylaw, which was adopted this week and will gradually come into force starting Monday. The bylaw was voted in days after a dog in Montreal North attacked two children on the same day.

“We’re giving ourselves the power to act before a bite occurs,” said Craig Sauvé, the associate councillor on the executive committee in charge of drafting the bylaw. “In the previous bylaw, no actions were required until an attack causing bleeding occurred.”

Some elements will come into force immediately. However, the ban on choke collars, shock collars and pincher collars will only begin in 2020. While Mayor Valérie Plante rescinded the 2015 ban on pit bulls, her administration took several months to revise the rest of the animal-control bylaw to focus more on animal welfare, education and prevention.

Sauvé said the city is also adding four inspectors who specialize in aggressive animal behaviour that he hopes will be in place by October.

Dog and cat owners will have to register their animals with the city, and pets must wear their tags at all times when in public. Pet dogs, cats and even rabbits will also have to be sterilized starting in 2020.

As of July 2019, pet shops in the city will only be permitted to sell dogs or cats who have come from animal shelters, both in an attempt to cut down on puppy mills and as a prevention measure to avoid mass breeding, Sauvé said, adding bad breeding can be the cause of many aggressive tendencies.

The bylaw also stipulates dogs larger than 20 kilograms be on a harness when walked, rather than on a leash. Dogs involved in violent incidents will be taken away by city inspectors who must then judge if the dog acted in a normal fashion or is inherently aggressive and must be put down.

Dogs not falling into either of those categories are deemed to be “at risk,” and must be listed on a registry the city will make public online. Owners of those dogs must post a sign on their homes warning people of a potential danger, and owners of “at risk” dogs must be at least 18 and can’t have a criminal record. The city can also impose other conditions on such dogs, Sauvé said, like forcing them to wear a muzzle.

Sauvé said anyone who sees a dangerous dog should call the city at 311. If there is an emergency involving a dog or an attack, call 911.

Also this week, city council voted unanimously to ban horse-drawn carriages in Montreal, known in French as calèches, as of Jan. 1, 2020.