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Victoria News
Council eyes leash for animals
By Roszan Holmen – Victoria News

Published: July 20, 2010 7:00 PM
Pet owners can walk around town with their snake around their neck, slaughter chickens in their backyard, or feed seagulls to their heart’s content in Victoria

Without breaking any city bylaws, pet owners can also keep their animal in substandard living conditions and can abandon it if they wish.

Compared to many other jurisdictions, Victoria is the wild west of pet ownership.

But that’s about to change.

City council launched a large-scale review of its animal control bylaws last week, with the intention of adopting sweeping changes by January.

Carol Broad, of Victoria Adoptables, urged the city to adopt restrictions on the sale of pets.

“Spay and neuter is a huge issue,” said Broad. “Every municipality is overloaded with cats and kittens. We get calls all the time.”

Victoria Adoptables is an umbrella organization including many rescue operations.

Broad said the cost of sterilization should be included in the price of a pet, such as cats, rabbits and dogs.

As well as addressing animal welfare and overpopulation issues, the city’s review also addresses animal nuisance and danger problems. Some of the recommendations come as a bad surprise to chicken owner and educator Billy Metcalf.

While he applauds bylaws to ensure the proper care of chickens, Metcalf objects to a minimum lot size to keep chickens and a cap on the number allowed.

“I don’t think of chickens as pets, I think of this of this … (as a step towards) food security,” he said.

The new bylaws under consideration also aims to bring fees in line with actual control costs. In 2009, animal control cost $419,000, nearly triple the amount collected through licence, impound, maintenance and adoption fees and penalties.

rholmen@vicnews.com

Changes in the works

Victoria city staff have compiled a list of 14 recommended bylaw amendments and 15 more controversial items for consideration. Here are some highlights from both categories:

Recommended:

• prohibit animals from roaming on public property

• require secure enclosures for outdoor chickens and rabbits

• require secure confinement of dangerous dogs in backyards

• restrict bee keeping by number, size and location of hives

Controversial:

• prohibit exercising dogs from a car or bike

• limit household cats and rabbits

• require pet stores to divulge origin of animals

• prohibit feeding birds in a way that causes nuisance

• prohibit sale of rabbits, or unsterilized rabbits

http://www.citizencanine.org/gendocs/victoria-animal-control-bylaw-amendments-2010.pdf

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Victoria to rein in animal care with review of control bylaw
By Bill Cleverley, Times Colonist
July 21, 2010

Everything from limiting the number of cats allowed in a household to a ban on leaving dogs in cars in the summer heat will be up for debate by Victoria councillors this week as part of a sweeping revamp of its animal control bylaw.

Coun. Charlayne Thornton-Joe, an animal rights advocate, called for quick action, noting there hasn't been a comprehensive review of the bylaw since 1992.

"It makes it easier for animal control to respond to the situation and not have to wait until an animal is in dire stress before they can react," she said. Among other things, she'd like to see regulations prohibiting people from exercising their dogs while riding their bikes.

Mayor Dean Fortin said council should consider barring the sale of unsterilized rabbits, along with mandatory cat sterilization. "I think animal overpopulation is something that's in the public's mind and one within the region that we need to deal with collectively." In January, council asked staff to review the bylaw and suggest amendments. Among recommendations:

– Prohibit animal abandonment.

– Impose basic standards of animal care.

– Prohibit leaving an animal unattended in an enclosed space without sufficient ventilation.

– Impose requirements for secure transport of animals.

– Prohibit tying an animal by a rope or a chain that is directly tied around its neck or to a choke collar.

– Require secure enclosures for outdoor rabbits and chickens.

Amendments being considered — subject to more research — would:

– Prohibit exercising dogs while operating a vehicle or riding a bicycle.

– Prohibit keeping a dog on a traffic island.

– Limit the number of cats or rabbits that can be kept in one household.

– Require cat identification.

– Require pet stores to provide disclosure of the origin and medical history of animals to purchasers.

City staff are also recommending rules for keeping bees and chickens.

bcleverley@tc.canwest.com
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