The city of Montreal will allow dog owners who currently have pit bulls to keep them, but they must apply to the city for a special permit by  December 31st, reported mnn.com.

One of the major reasons why pit bulls are banned is because recently there has been a number of attacks due to these dogs. In June there was a pit bull attack that took the life of 55-year-old Christiane Vadnais, who was killed in her yard by a neighbor’s dog in Montreal. It was confirmed the dog was a rottweiler, CBC News stated.

In an exclusive interview with Matador Messenger, One Last Chance- Animal Rescue Team stated their opinion on the ban, they said “Scientifically and anecdotally, banning dogs does not prevent dog attacks, in fact, the biggest offenders in this category are smaller breeds of dogs and family dogs (chihuahuas, cocker spaniels and golden retrievers.)”

“…ineffective laws known as breed-specific legislation or ‘BSL.’ The stated purpose of BSL is to reduce dog bites and attacks, and while many municipalities have passed these laws, there is no evidence that they work—in fact, they often make matters worse,” American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) stated.

Over 700 cities in 36 states in the United States are banning or declaring pitbulls are “dangerous,” according to  www.scribd.com. Some European countries, such as Germany, Spain, and Great Britain, are starting to ban pit bulls. “The United Kingdom banned pit bulls in 1991, yet serious dog-bite injuries has also risen, especially in under-resourced areas”, latimes.com reported.