Pit bulls no longer considered a dangerous breed in Delta

DELTA (NEWS1130) – Pit bull owners in Delta have had to keep their pets leashed and muzzled at all times. But come November, City Council will eliminate a section of the animal control bylaw, which automatically designates all pit bulls as dangerous dogs.

Lorie Chortyk with the BC SPCA says labeling certain breeds as dangerous is not effective. “Where you get into issues is where dogs are badly trained, or have been unsocialized. It’s largely a people problem, than the problem with the dog. What breed bans do is they also get people a false sense of security.”

She says proper bylaws can help the problem. “Where bylaws have been incredibly effective at addressing aggressive dogs is where they have proper licencing in place, so you don’t have the dogs running at large, where they have proper spay/ neuter bylaws in place.”

A dog will still be considered dangerous if it attacks or bites without being provoked.