Justice Louis J. Gouin has imposed a two-day stay of enforcement on part Montreal's new animal control bylaw.
He said the pit-bull-specific previsions, namely muzzling of dogs and the requirements for a very short leash, should not be applied until at least Wednesday.
All other provisions, including the requirements for dogs over 20 kg to wear a harness, are still in effect.
Gouin will make a final ruling regarding an injunction on Wednesday.
The decision for a temporary stay of proceedings comes after the Montreal SPCA filed a request for an injunction, and spent Monday arguing against it in court.
The Montreal SPCA argued the bylaw should be suspended because, in its view, the definition of pit bulls and pit-bull-type dogs was too vague.
"The City of Montreal is giving different responses to each person," said lawyer Marie-Claude St-Amant.
"People are worried. They want to know and they don't know and even the city doesn't know how to interpret it."
St-Amant argued that an injunction would not be an inconvenience for the city, while enforcing the bylaw immediately would lead to the euthanization of animals in shelters.
"Dogs that are identified as pit-bull like will have to be euthanized. Why? The SPCA is not a sanctuary. We can't keep dogs forever," she said.
Since the bylaw changes were first announced, several agencies in other provinces have begun adopting pit bulls from Montreal. It is also possible that pit bulls could be transferred to municipalities outside the city which have not banned pit bulls.
Lawyers for the animal welfare agency also argued that cities do not have the power to euthanize dogs that are neither errant nor dangerous because of Quebec's animal welfare law which recognizes animals as sentient beings.
René Cadieux, the lawyer for the city disagreed, saying the definition of pit bulls were those used by the Canadian Kennel Club. He added that, like pornography, anyone would know a pit-bull-type dog when they saw it.
"If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it's got to be a duck. And people will look at it from this criteria," said Cadieux.
Cadieux also said that Ontario's provincial law banning pit bulls was challenged and in 2009 the Supreme Court of Canada upheld Ontario's ban.
Montreal City Council approved the amendments to the animal control bylaw last week.
Aimed at eventually eradicating pit bulls from the city, the bylaw allows the owners of existing pit bulls to keep their animals as long as they abide by several conditions, including registering their animals, and keeping them muzzled, and on a short leash, whenever outside their home.
Montreal estimates that 80 percent of dog owners have not registered their dogs.
Many cities across Quebec and Canada have banned pit bulls, as has the province of Ontario.
Montreal recently published a new website to help pet-owners navigate the new bylaw.
