The number of dogs in the borough has skyrocketed since the epidemic began, and this has a direct impact on the number of bites expected to exceed 300 by 2022.
According to a December 2021 census by the City of Montreal, the number of dogs increased by 37% from 2017 to reach 158,000.
Cats are not left out: they are 53% more or 353,000.
Nearly 50% of Montreal households own at least one pet, and 110,000 households have acquired a dog or cat since the pandemic began, according to municipal data.
According to the city, this increase, combined with periods of incarceration, explains the presence of more dangerous animals: since the beginning of 2022, officers have been bitten 301, compared to 263 in the whole of 2021. , and 189 dogs with aggressive behavior were reported, compared to 152 dogs in 2021.
Dog bite in Montreal
2022 (up to December 8) : 301
2021 : 263
2020 : 228
2019 : 251
Source: City of Montreal
“Capitalization means that keepers, like their respective dogs, have little socialization during this period. Many puppies have little contact with other dogs or humans throughout their first months of life, and some find themselves in situations where they don’t know how to react,” publicist Gonzalo Nunez responded by email.
Euthanasia
Currently, 124 Montrealers require a special license for their dogs because they have been declared “dangerous.” Keepers must therefore respect specific conditions (including wearing a muzzle-basket and a maximum 1.25 meter leash). Twenty new dogs have been declared dangerous in 2022, compared to 27 in 2021 and 31 in 2020.
The city has ordered the euthanasia of six dangerous dogs in the past year, but two of them are “missing,” its records show.
The euthanasia order, issued in 2021, resulted in a legal challenge that is still pending, giving the animal a reprieve.
In this case, which involved a pit bull that attacked another dog, a Supreme Court judge upheld the euthanasia order in a ruling last June. The biting dog, named Meera, bit another dog, Watson, on the back and head. Watson’s owner also suffered superficial injuries to his hands when he tried to protect his dog. Meera is absent from her first attacks, indicating judgment.
In 2021, it will cost the city $164,800 to manage dangerous dogs at risk of being ordered euthanized, but municipal officials have been called on to pay an additional $15,000 to keep Meera in custody for the duration of the legal challenge. , to the City Council’s next meeting, according to documents filed Dec. 19.
These services cost $223,500 in 2023. Proanima, a non-profit organization with facilities in Boucherville and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, has taken over.
Montreal Animal Control patrols made 4,997 interventions and issued 417 crime reports in 2022, up from 554 in 2021, 756 in 2020 and 1,060 in 2019.
