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Will the SPCA euthanize pit-bull-type dogs starting Monday?
The SPCA says it’s against its mandate to kill healthy, behaviourally sound dogs, so it won’t. But it does not have the funds to ship hundreds of dogs abroad. Rescue organizations have already transported dozens of pit bulls to places like New Brunswick and Saskatchewan. (The Montreal SPCA estimates one third of the 2,000 dogs it receives each year are of the city’s pit-bull-type category) The new bylaw could force it to terminate dog services for the 10 boroughs it serves. The SPCA filed an injunction in court Wednesday to suspend elements of the bylaw.
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This part about what to do with them is a slippery slope.
When a dog fighting ring was busted in a nearby town some years ago there was an outcry of sympathy for the poor dogs. This was a pretty large number of dogs - about 50.
After a time - a few weeks I think - they declare success by proclaiming that none of the poor fighting dogs had to be euthanized due to lack of a place to put them.
... the rest of the story (the tragic part) is that to make space for them in the shelters they had to shorten the already short lease on life that the existing shelter dogs had (almost all more desirable animals) to accommodate the fighting dogs.
