Morinville town citizens may be dog tired of watching town council try to draft a bylaw to control animals in the community.
Animal control is a serious concern in many Alberta communities, but the issue in Morinville is like a cat with nine lives. The most recent review began last year when the town sought a bylaw that would be easy to understand, would provide clear processes and be easier to enforce. The introduction of an off-leash dog park had also demanded enforceable rules covered by legislation. The town was also trying to grapple with cat control in a way that was less costly and more successful.
However, the town’s efforts to reach those goals have been unsuccessful. Proposed bylaws keep coming back in radically different forms. After multiple wording changes, the most recent bylaw looked like something the cat dragged in.
Indeed there were so many wording changes in the revisited bylaw that Mayor Lisa Holmes was right when she recommended it be sent away and rewritten before coming back for second reading on Aug. 30.
On June 14 council voted 4-3 to remove on-leash requirements for dogs but not cats from the law. Several weeks later a draft presented for third reading had removed the on-leash requirements for both cats and dogs. Then council did a 180-degree turn and went from letting pets run freely, to being leashed most of the time.
Now, it might be hard to imagine, but let’s pretend for a moment that Fluffy the cat bolted out the front door when the opportunity afforded itself. Fluffy is spotted skulking around the neighbourhood, doing unspeakable cat-like things like climbing trees and hiding under cars. An irate neighbour sees this fiendish behavior and calls bylaw. The bylaw officer retrieves the cat, but the cat has no identification. Now what? Tweet out Fluffy’s picture? Knock on doors until the rightful owner is found, then charge that owner?
The whole exercise has become a waste of time and resources. Animal control issues need to be straightforward and common sense must apply. Clearly, council is mired in scope creep. What started out as a simple enough exercise has become a quagmire.
There must be an easier way. Perhaps it is time for Morinville council and staff to cast their eyes outside of town limits and look to see what other communities are doing.
Morinville town council needs to quit chasing its tail and return to the basics when it addresses the issue on Aug. 30. And then it’s time to move on with a bylaw that is enforceable, coherent and lasting.
