In 2020, the district completely reworked the Animal Responsibility Bylaw, but, after a spate of incidents over the last few years, council directed staff to review the bylaw to reflect issues experienced in the community in recent years, specifically those involving cats at large.
Back in August, Council directed Bylaw enforcement to take a ‘zero tolerance’ approach for animals at large, without a licence, or off leash.
So staff has reached out to other municipalities around the province to determine how they are handling similar situations, specifically those surrounding the trapping of cats.
According to Dustin Curry, Director of Protective Services, most municipalities that responded are loaning out animal traps. “They are loaning them out with the requirement that those using them abide by a strict set of guidelines in an effort to ensure that the trapping process is as humane as possible,” writes Curry in his submission to council. “Only one municipality has gone as far as to place language regarding the trapping of cats in their bylaw.”
He says the proposed amendment to the bylaw accomplishes both in order to regulate the care of trapped animals and provide for a means of penalty for infractions against the regulation by way of bylaw fines.
However, Tumbler Ridge will not be providing cat traps for people in the community. Instead, the new bylaw allows for the use of a humane trap on private property, providing that the trap not be set if the temperature is expected to go below zero or above 25 degrees Celsius in the next 72 hours. Traps need to be set in the shade, and, if set outdoors, they need to check the trap at least once an hour, and only on their own property.
Finally, any person setting a cat trap must sign and submit a new Cat Trapping Acknowledgment Form.
“There is some concern that the municipality could be found to be in contravention of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act should they allow for the trapping of cats,” says Curry. “However by setting regulations in bylaw, Administration is confident that it is satisfying documented best practice conforming to the BCSPCA’s Position Statement on Trapping (2009).”
According to Curry, the changes to the bylaw also include updating some of the language for the sake of clarity from an enforcement perspective. “Several schedules of the bylaw were also updated as part of the review.”
Additionally, there is the addition of a nuisance animal section to the bylaw.
A nuisance animal is an animal that has been seized for being at large twice in the last 12 months, whose owner has been found liable to pay a fine or penalty under a municipal ticket twice within a twelve (12) month period as a result of the animal making noise excessively where such noise causes or tends to cause annoyance to persons in the neighbourhood or vicinity; or whose owner has been found liable to pay a fine or penalty under a municipal ticket two times within a twelve month period as a result of the animal being at large; and that has not already been classified as a Dangerous Dog or a High-Risk Dog.
Owners of nuisance animals will face higher licence fees.
Finally, feeding wildlife—other than birds (and not ravens or crows or birds with a wingspan larger than 40 cm) will be prohibited by the bylaw.
One of the biggest problems with the bylaw is receiving of fees outside of regular business hours.
However, says Curry, the district plans to purchase an additional Point of Sale system with associated costs contained within the Protective Services annual operating budget.
Penalties for violating the Animal Control Bylaw range from $50 to $5000.
Changes to the bylaw have been discussed at a Policies and Priorities meeting, and the final draft of the bylaw will be brought before council in the next few months to be approved.
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
