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Morinville looks at armadillo ban

Morinville residents will have to give up their armadillos and elephants under a new pet law currently before town council. Council tabled a draft of its new Responsible Pet Ownership bylaw at its Dec. 21 meeting.

Morinville residents will have to give up their armadillos and elephants under a new pet law currently before town council.

Council tabled a draft of its new Responsible Pet Ownership bylaw at its Dec. 21 meeting. The bylaw, which updates the town's old animal control bylaw, proposes a long list of changes to pet ownership and licensing in the town. It was the subject of nine months of research.

The bylaw is remarkably detailed. Weighing in at about 56 pages, it is more than five times longer than the current edition and features rules on pet behaviour, kennel management and licensing.

Fines for violations have also been increased. Whereas pet owners can be fined up to $250 under the current law, the new one proposes fines of up to $1,000 when a pet kills another pet.

It also features an extensive list of animals that cannot be kept as pets. Whereas the current law simply bans the ownership of all animals or species "deemed dangerous or objectionable to a Medical Health Officer," the proposed law lists about 130 banned species, including armadillos, elephants, walruses, spiders and kangaroos.

This is a great bylaw that needs a lot of work, said Mayor Lloyd Bertschi. "For the most part it's cleaning it up and getting new language into it."

Although he had yet to read it in detail, he said he did not expect the law to be too controversial when it came up for debate. "When you get between people and their pets, there's always a reaction."

Many changes

The draft law goes into great detail about pet ownership, clarifying many points raised in the old law.

Anyone who owns three or more dogs older than six months of age must now apply for a kennel licence, according to the draft, with non-commercial kennels now permitted in residential areas. Residents who own three or more dogs before Jan. 1, 2011, will be grandfathered into the law and won't need a kennel licence. Residents will not be allowed to harbour more than three cats upon or in one land, house, shelter, room or place unless the excess cats are younger than 12 weeks.

The draft law also creates new restrictions on where pets can go. In addition to the current ban from public swimming pools, the law bars dogs from school grounds, playgrounds, sports fields, cemeteries, splash parks and stormwater ponds. It also adds chasing cars, scattering trash and killing domestic animals to the list of dangerous/destructive behaviours subject to regulation.

The law permits dogs to be on pathways while leashed, and allows for the creation of off-leash areas. It also forbids owners from putting animals in distress, for example by not feeding them.

The bylaw raises licensing fees for kennels to $150 a year from $50, and sets a new $450-a-year fee for commercial kennels. It also sets fines for some 46 offences, including beekeeping within town limits and putting an animal in distress. Fines are doubled on a second offence and tripled on subsequent offences. Disabled residents with seeing, hearing or helper dogs will not have to pay for pet licences.

Might be overkill, says councillor

Councillors reached by the Gazette said they had yet to review the law in detail.

The law seems to be very broad and punitive in orientation, said Coun. Gordon Boddez. "It may be overly comprehensive." Council would carefully review the law next year before putting it to a vote.

Bertschi laughed out loud when read a selection of animals that would be banned under the new bylaw, saying it might be a little excessive.

The proposed law goes before committee of the whole next month.


Kevin Ma

About the Author: Kevin Ma

Kevin Ma joined the St. Albert Gazette in 2006. He writes about Sturgeon County, education, the environment, agriculture, science and aboriginal affairs. He also contributes features, photographs and video.
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