In case you’ve missed the news of the terribly unjust law that was passed last week in Montreal, Canada, there was a ban that was put on all Pit Bulls, all Pit Bull mixes, and basically any dog with a big head (the law that was passed was extremely vague, and made it so that almost every dog that even had a slight resemblance to a Pit Bull could be included in the ban). The law required that any dog under this ban that was not already owned by a resident of Montreal- meaning all the dogs who have been surrendered to animal shelters, or any strays- be euthanized. There were no exceptions, and pertained to all these dogs, even if they had never shown a history of violence. It also required owners of these dogs to muzzle them at all times whenever outside, even in their own backyard.

Thankfully, there was a world wide push back on this horribly generalized and fear-based ban. From Canada to the U.S. to Europe, thousands of people have been speaking out against this law to get it overturned. Owners of the breed have shown time and time again that they are gentle, caring dogs with the right care and attention, and they’ve only become violent because of unfortunate situations of abusive owners.

Thankfully, news of this law traveled extremely fast, and there were thousands of people speaking out against it through news sources and social media- there were even multiple petitions signed to overturn the law. Many shelters throughout the world also spoke out against the law, as they are the ones who have to euthanize these innocent, misjudged animals.

After a long week of petitioning the law, a bit of good news has finally arose. While the law has not been changed or overturned, and while the ban still has a chance of going into action, a judge has suspended the law- if only temporarily- that includes the ban on Pit Bulls. Thankfully, this means that the law has not yet been put into action, and the euthanasia of these innocent animals has not taken place.

The suspension came in order to look over and respond to SPCA’s request to lift the ban, which is wonderful news. Hopefully this means that actual facts and researchable data can be used to provide evidence that the ban is not only unfair, but completely unnecessary. This suspension wouldn’t have been possible without the pushback that Montreal experienced by enraged people.

This goes to show that our voices our important, and they do matter. It is extremely important to speak out against injustices, even something as seemingly small as a dog ban in a Canadian town, because we really can make a difference. Sadly, there was only a suspension on this ban, which means it can still go on to be enforced. It is so important, now more than ever, to make sure it is known that this law is unjust and this ban needs to be lifted permanently. If our combined voices can suspend it, we can get rid of it completely.