Prince George's restrictions on pit bull dogs have been more trouble than they're worth, according to a staff report.
Since 2005, pit bulls, American pitbull terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers and American Staffordshire bull terriers or any cross of those breeds have had to be muzzled while out in public and kept in an enclosure while at home. Their owners have also had to pay as much as $247 extra for a licence and $229 more for a first-time impoundment.
But staff records have failed to show evidence the measures have made the community any safer, bylaw services manager Fred Crittendon says in a report to council.
In the five years prior to the change, 14 of every 100 dogs bites reported were from either pit bull or pit bull crosses, but in the 10-year period since then they accounted for 23, according to city numbers.
Properly identifying a breed has been troublesome, Crittendon adds, noting the owner of an American bully had to go through the expense of DNA testing to prove it was not one of the restricted breeds.
Moreover, he says reluctance of owners to provide the proper breed when getting a licence creates problems for investigators when it comes to identifying dogs that have gotten lost or are creating trouble because of their aggressive behaviour.
"Owners that license their dogs in a manner that may save them money put a roadblock up for our investigators when we require that information for an investigation," he says. "These roadblocks happen even when not intended. Licensing a dog as a popular breed like Lab or mastiff only creates more records to review when looking for a particular problem dog."
Currently, 50 dogs are licensed as dangerous because of their breed.
"We know that there are many more than that in the community. However, unless we actually deal with the dogs as part of a complaint and can somehow properly identify their breed we will never know an accurate number," Crittedon says.
Since 2004, the B.C. Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has opposed "breed banning." Any dog can be aggressive, people who want aggressive dogs can simply switch breeds to get around the restrictions and responsible owners are unfairly punished, according to the SPCA.
Crittendon also addresses cats in his report. He says methods to encourage spaying and neutering and permanent forms of identification "would create a more effective way to deal with nuisance cats and overpopulation."
Under the current bylaw, owners pay a nominal fee to get their cat returned if impounded and in the past five years, animal control officers have attended 657 complaints related to the animals.
"That number would likely be much higher if there were provisions to ensure can owners were responsible for their pets' activities," Crittendon says.
Council will decide Monday night whether to give staff the go ahead to draft a new "responsible animal ownership" bylaw to replace the existing animal control bylaw.
