[English text below]

Mettons fin aux contraventions exorbitantes et à la criminalisation des propriétaires responsables de chiens.

Ma douce chienne Mia de 35 lbs et âgée de 8 ans, vaccinée , micro-pucée et dûment enregistrée à la ville de Montréal , s’est faite donner une contravention de $500 + frais ($644) parce que je l’ai laissée faire ses besoins (que j’ai pris soin de ramasser) sur un terrain en retrait à plus de 3 mètres du trottoir. Je tenais mon bébé de 17 mois et ai tenté d’expliquer aux agents implacables la cause de mon anodin délit . (Comparer avec Toronto--maximum 300 $ pour la même infraction!)

L’application de la loi canine sans vergogne par la patrouille canine est discriminatoire et anti-démocratique. La tolérance zéro et l’obligation des agents d’imposer des contraventions outrageusement élevées n’a pour but que de remplir les coffres de la ville.

Il va de soi que des lois doivent exister dans une grande ville. Mais pourquoi les contraventions pour chiens sont-elles cinq fois plus onéreuses que de lancer une voiture sur une traverse de piétons ($100 voiture vs $500 chiens !)? Cet abus de la part du contrôle animalier transforme les propriétaires responsables de chiens en criminels et rend l’accessibilité aux chiens inabordable et et un privilège de riche.

Faites-vous entendre avant les élections. Exigez des tarifs de répression raisonnable et une diminution du harcèlement de la part du contrôle animalier. Veuillez signer cette pétition , MERCI

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Mia is a sweet, well-trained, 35 pound, 8 year-old dog. Her registration and vaccinations are always up to date; her poop is always scooped. One early morning, I was walking Mia and my 17 month-old son on a quiet, empty street in the Mile End. I took Mia to a far corner of the lawn in front of an elderly housing building, more than 10 feet from the sidewalk, scooped the poop and immediately put Mia back on leash. But the animal patrol had passed by and began the process of issuing me a ticket for over $600 ($500 + taxes). I pleaded with them to see how unreasonable it was in the given circumstances, but they simply repeated over and over that their sole job was to issue tickets. These tickets cost dog owners several hundreds of dollars, no matter the circumstances (compare these fines with Toronto's maximum of $300 for the same offense)!

The way Montreal enforces its leash law is undemocratic. Animal patrol officers are not allowed to use their discretion about whether a particular infraction is really deserving of such steep penalties--all they can do is automatically issue tickets! That amounts to a kind of criminalization of dog ownership for the sake of the city's revenue.

Of course, there needs to be a leash law in a densely populated city. But why are the fines for minor infractions of the animal control laws so much higher than those for violations of traffic laws? Car drivers are statistically much, much more likely to cause harm or death compared with dog walkers (most dog bites occur within the home rather than in public). This overreach of the city's animal control divisions is turning responsible dog owners into criminals and making dog ownership in Montreal unaffordable, a privilege reserved only for the wealthy.

The upcoming municipal election is our chance as dog owners to make our voices heard. End the high pricing and over policing of responsible pet owners! Please sign and circulate!