Ontario pit ban upheld

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2009:
OTTAWA–A three-judge panel of the Supreme Court of Canada on
June 11, 2009 refused to hear Ontario dog keeper Catherine
Cochrane’s last appeal in an attempt to overturn the 2005 Dog Owners’
Liability Act. The act bans from Ontario any dog who “has an
appearance and physical characteristics that are substantially
similar” to those of pit bull terriers, Stafford-shire bull
terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, and American pit bull
terriers.
Pit bulls already in Ontario when the law passed may be kept
if they are licensed, sterilized, and kept muzzled and leashed when
in public.
“The total ban on pit bulls is not ‘arbitrary’ or ‘grossly
disproportionate’ in light of the evidence that pit bulls have a
tendency to be unpredictable and that even apparently docile pit
bulls may attack without warning or provocation,” the Ontario Court
of Appeal ruled in October 2008.
Cochrane was represented by renowned civil rights lawyer Clayton Ruby.