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Pit bulls have been banned in Ontario for 20 years. How did we get here?

Ontario's history with breed-specific legislation and how it impacts dogs, owners and shelters around the province.

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This year marks Ontario’s 20th anniversary of breed-specific legislation (BSL) banning pit bull-type breeds from being owned, bred, and imported into the province.

Ontario is the only province in Canada with provincial-wide laws against what are commonly referred to as bully breeds after high-profile bites from these kinds of dogs circulated the media. Bully breeds include pit bull terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, American pit bull terriers, and any dog that resembles them.

The Toronto Observer spoke with dog and rescue experts to dive into what BSL means and its effect on banned dogs in Ontario.

What is breed-speicfic legislation?

BSL is an addition to the Dog Owner’s Liability Act (DOLA), implemented in 1990 by the Ontario government. DOLA was originally put in place to hold dog owners of any breed responsible for harm inflicted by their dogs on other people and animals. BSL was explicitly added to DOLA to target bully breeds, banning them in Ontario in an effort to reduce dog bites and injuries.

The first pit bulls were bred as a hybrid of big and strong bull-baiting dogs with smaller terriers in the early 1800s. This combination of strength and agility would create the ideal dog for fighting.

Since pit bulls were first introduced, continued illegal breeding within the province has resulted in variations of bully breeds deemed dangerous by the court based on their appearance.

Read more from the Toronto Observer:

BSL was advocated for by the Ontario Liberal government in the early 2000s, spearheaded by then Premier of Ontario Dalton McGuinty and former Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant.

BSL aims to “keep Ontarians safe from dangerous dogs,” said former Toronto mayor David Miller, by exclusively banning bully breeds. The ban does not include dogs that existed before it was implemented, but those born after the ban are prohibited in Ontario.

In 2025, most bully-breed dogs that were grandfathered in when the law was put in place are no longer alive, so in theory, every bully breed in Ontario resides here illegally. Pit bull-type breeds are only allowed in the province, with permission, if participating in a dog show.

Ontarians who own these breeds could face fines up to $10,000 and 6 months in jail if the dog is found to be violent.

What does the legislation mean for banned breeds?

Any bully breeds in Ontario born after August 2005 can be taken by animal control officers for looking like a pit bull-type dog and put in the shelter system for the Ontario Court of Justice to test its DNA. If the dog is found to be a biologically banned breed, the courts can order it to be euthanized. In some cases, dogs are released back to their owner.

Melanie Coulter, former executive director of the Windsor/Essex Humane Society, said that by the time the court assesses a dog’s case and judges how to proceed, they had already been held in shelters for years, which is not good for dogs or shelters.

In 2012, the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association blamed BSL for the euthanasia of over 1,000 dogs and puppies based on their physical characteristics and DNA, many of them having no history of violence.

The province outlawed bully breeds, but it is still common to see them regularly. While technically, no one is allowed to own these breeds in Ontario, it is difficult to enforce the ban because so many dogs look like a bully breed, even if they are not, according to Coulter.

“Many dogs are a mixture of breeds,” she said. “Even experts have challenges.”

What happens to banned dogs surrendered to shelters?

Municipal shelters like the Toronto Humane Society and the Windsor/Essex Humane Society have bully breeds surrendered to them, and they must adopt the dog to a household outside of Ontario if they are a suspected banned breed, according to Coulter.

The founder of Hank’s Haven Rescue Foundation in Barrie, Ont., Nicole Tryon, said that she sees many apparent bully breeds coming through her rescue, and she is careful when adopting them to homes by ensuring every dog, regardless of breed, goes through a training program before they can be adopted.

“If I can help a dog, I’m going to help a dog,” Tryon said. “I don’t give a s–t if it’s a bully breed. But I’m also responsible about it.”

She said that although her shelter is careful when adopting bully-appearing breeds by taking precautions, not all shelters are. “You have other rescues that also don’t follow (BSL),” she said. “But they’re also adopting dogs that maybe shouldn’t be adopted or shouldn’t have left the shelter.”

What has happened since the legislation took effect?

Dog bites have increased since BSL was added to DOLA. According to the latest data, Toronto has experienced a 39 per cent increase in dog bites since 2022, with a 57 per cent increase in the last 10 years, likely associated with stay-at-home orders.

The Toronto Humane Society is actively against BSL and advocates for removing it from the Dog Owner’s Liability Act. There are organizations like the Ontario Coalition Against BSL, who are “vehemently” against breed-specific legislation and claim there is no such thing as a dangerous breed.

Karanbir Singh, owner and operator of Dog Training with KB, based out of Windsor, ON, with experience worldwide, said that bites are not a breed-specific issue but an owner issue with people who are unprepared to care for a bully breed. “As long as the right person is with the right dog, you’ll never have a problem,” he said.

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