Pit bull terrier owners across Canada held candlelight vigils Sunday night to protest Ontario's new law banning the breed -- the first provincial one of its kind in Canada.

Starting at 12:01 a.m. Monday, all existing Ontario pit bulls will have to be muzzled and leashed in public.

People will not be able to own breed, import, transfer or purchase pit bulls, although they can still adopt them for a limited time. Existing dogs will have to be spayed nor neutered.

Those violating the rules can end up with their pets seized and euthanized, while they could face finds of up to $10,000 or even jail time.

However, there will be a 60-day grace period, to Oct. 28.

Ontario's legislature passed the law in late March, but delayed implementation to help municipalities adjust.

"Here I am walking down the street with a target on my chest because my dog has a muzzle that says, 'this is a fierce vicious animal and you have to be afraid of this dog'," said pit bull owner Steve Barker on Sunday.

Some owners are planning a court challenge of the law. Their lawyer, Clayton Ruby, is planning a news conference for Monday.

But postal worker Darlene Wagner, who was attacked by one of the powerful animals, is happy the new law is finally here.

"It's been a long time coming and it will make me feel safer on the streets when I'm out there," she told CTV News.

The new law came out of a series of vicious attacks in the summer of 2004.

"I am convinced that pit bulls are ticking time bombs. I am convinced that they are inherently dangerous animals," Attorney General Michael Bryant said in announcing the legislation last fall.

While walking his friend's two pit bulls a year ago, a 25-year-old Toronto man found himself under attack by both dogs. Bystanders tried beating the dogs with sticks, but that didn't help. Police had to shoot the animals numerous times each. The animals kept up the attack until they were dead.

But despite such horror stories, pit bull fans say the Ontario government's ban is too broad.

"Does anyone know that Helen Keller's companion dog was an American pit bull terrier?" asked Janet Chernin of the Dog Legislation Council of Canada.

The Ontario ban covers dogs that even look like Staffordshire terriers or American pit bull terriers.

Chernin claimed in a meeting with Bryant, he couldn't pick out a pit bull from a number of different photographs of similar-looking dogs.

In Nova Scotia, dog trainer Bob Ottenbrite asked rhetorically: "Why are some children good and some children bad? It goes back to home."

Bad owners are a bigger problem, he said.

At the Toronto Humane Society, a spokesman said the government has made a mistake if it thinks the law will stop dog bites.

"What is so dangerous for the public is they think they can approach any dog, mishandle any dog that isn't a pitbull and they won't be bitten, and that's not going to be the case," said Tim Trow.

With a report from CTV's Denelle Balfour