Tired of finding dog leavings on your lawn or cats in your plants? Do you have some thoughts on how the city should control animals in the future, including your neighbour’s potbellied pig?
If so, the city council wants to hear from you as it conducts its review of the animal control bylaw. In November, Coun. Cathy Heron put forward a motion, passed by council, calling for a review of the bylaw, first passed in 1978. Among the subjects to be explored are on-leash and off-leash areas in the city, disruptive or nuisance dogs, the impact of dangerous dogs in the community, cat licensing and … whether or not residents should be allowed to have backyard chickens.
“I believe last year we had a presentation by somebody on the benefits of backyard chickens to council and they brought it up,” said Aaron Giesbrecht, manager of policing services. “Some other municipalities are going that route and there’s been some push so if we’re to ask about issues, we want to ask about all the issues.”
Such questions aren’t limited to chickens — hens specifically. The survey also asks about residents keeping goats and potbellied pigs as pets.
“We’ve heard some questions about pigs through the years,” Giesbrecht said. “We are having those inquiries. They are treated very much as a dog as opposed to a pig.”
The larger question lurking in the survey and as part of the overall review is the subject of licensing and, potentially, controlling cats in the community. The city has no bylaw when it comes to cats, even though the municipal enforcement receives regular calls about cats on the loose. Giesbrecht said all they can do is direct them to the city’s website for more information.
“It says what a person can and cannot do to a cat on their property because we don’t have a cat bylaw. We don’t prohibit cats from roaming. We explain all the options that are available.”
But any mention of putting cats on leashes tends to raise the ire of cat owners, Heron said.
“Cat bylaws from other municipalities are hugely emotional, so we’ll do this survey and see how people feel,” said Heron.
The survey also asks several questions about dogs, specifically about dogs leaving their droppings on private property and about dangerous dogs. Giesbrecht said the city receives reports about people or other dogs being bitten by dogs, but can do little about it because all the bylaw requires is that a person have control of their dog at all times.
“We don’t have a section that says, ‘your dog cannot bite somebody,’” Giesbrecht said. “It’s the same offence as your dog running loose as biting somebody. It’s a little bit of a loophole, tightening up our ability to handle dangerous dogs when we come across them.”
The survey is available at www.stalbert.ca/animal-bylaw-information and will be until July 2. Hard copies can be picked up at the RCMP detachment at 96 Bellerose Dr.
Once the survey results are compiled, a report will be issued to council for its Sept. 17 meeting.
