Morinville residents could continue to let their dogs run free under proposed changes to the town’s pet bylaw, but would have to keep their cats on a leash.
Town council voted 5-2 in favour of second reading of the 2016 Responsible Pet Ownership bylaw last June 14 (councillors Stephen Dafoe and Gordon Putnam opposed).
The bylaw, if passed, will allow town residents to keep almost any animal as a pet provided they obtain a permit and will require all cats and dogs to be registered with the town.
The draft law now includes a policy that specifies the minimum size of any in-town chicken coop, said town enforcement services manager William Norton. These sizes were based on those used by the City of Edmonton, which were the most restrictive he could find.
Norton clarified that the bylaw’s special animal permit guidelines would require owners to have an end-of-life plan for their animals and to meet all applicable Canadian Food Inspection Agency rules with regards to disease outbreaks and disposal of dead animals.
Norton said he also planned to propose a discount for people that microchip or ID-tattoo their cats and dogs in the next draft. Instead of paying $100 to register their pets, residents who spayed/neutered their cats and dogs would pay $50, or just $25 if they also microchip or tattoo their animals.
Several councillors took aim at the draft’s on-leash requirements for dogs.
Norton said the draft featured on-leash requirements for dogs because of the town’s history with dog attacks: all four reported dog attacks in 2014 involved a non-leashed dog. Mandatory leashes also made it much easier to determine if a dog was under control for the sake of enforcement.
Coun. Brennan Fitzgerald said that leash requirements for dogs were unnecessary, and that there were alternatives, such as allowing people to walk dogs without a leash if they obtained an off-leash licence. Berlin and certain European nations have such licensees, he noted.
“I think a reasonable person knows what to expect from their dog and that the vast majority of dogs in Morinville are already walked on leashes,” he said.
“Morinville is a dog-friendly community, and I’d like to keep it that way.”
Council voted 4-3 in favour of Fitzgerald’s motion to have administration remove all on-leash requirements for dogs (but not cats) from the bylaw.
“A cat is not under control in general,” Fitzgerald joked, when asked about cats and leashes.
“If you have a cat you can control like that (with a leash), I’d pay to see that.”
Councillors Dafoe, Putnam, and Nicole Boutestein opposed the change, with Dafoe arguing that it was not procedurally valid as it did not spell out what clauses it would alter or how it would alter them.
Coun. Barry Turner attempted to remove cat licensing and enforcement from the bylaw, but was outvoted 6-1. Dafoe said that residents at the public hearing for the previous version of this bylaw clearly stated that they wanted the town to enforce its rules regarding stray cats.
Council backed Mayor Lisa Holmes’s idea to let council create on-leash areas as well as off-leash ones. Norton noted that St. Albert had similar provisions in its bylaws.
(St. Albert is currently an on-leash zone except for certain off-leash parks. City council is reviewing its leash laws after a report from administration last fall recommended eliminating all but six of the city’s off-leash zones.)
Councillors also voted 6-1 to support Boutestein’s request to have special animal ownership permit applicants inform their neighbours of their intent to get a permit before instead of after said permit was conditionally approved (Fitzgerald was opposed).
“It is a common courtesy,” Boutestein said, and would reduce the risk of conflict.
The bylaw returns for third reading later this year.
