ATHABASCA — Athabasca’s town councillors are hoping to see bigger teeth in a new draft pet ownership bylaw after an initial sniff around the proposed legislation left one councillor in paw-ticular wanting.
During their Aug. 13 meeting, councillors opted to unanimously pass both first and second readings of the new animal control bylaw in order to discuss necessary changes and additions, specifically in regard to vicious animals, before third reading.
Coun. Edie Yuill was vocal about her stance on the legislation and suggested several changes to the draft during discussions, including adding a veterinarian to the animal control review committee made up of the mayor and high-level administration staff.
“We talk about vicious animals, but we also talk about illness throughout,” said Yuill. “Are any of the people on that committee trained as knowing all the diseases, et cetera?”
Yuill also took a firm stance on the sections pertaining to dangerous pets, inquiring whether previous vicious determinations from other municipalities follow animals to new communities and if conditions for owners with pets deemed vicious could include putting up a sign on their property.
“I don’t want anybody to be attacked — I have been attacked,” she said. Yuill was also a resident in the Barrhead area when three-year-old Nolton Nanninga died as a result of injuries from a dog attack in 1983.
Safety concerns
The councillor went a step further, questioning the creation of rules and regulations around animals with a history of attacks and aggression in the first place.
“If we know they’re vicious, and there’s a possibility of a child, or anybody, getting hurt, why would we want that animal in town?”
“I agree with Councillor Yuill’s take on this,” said Coun. Dave Pacholok, who, along with Coun. Jon LeMessurier, expressed concerns about allowing known vicious animals to register and reside in town.
Community peace officer Kevin Rowan addressed the groups questions, and said a clause in the bylaw denoting an obligation to disclose any previous vicious determinations from other communities would be possible. But councillors Ida Edwards, Darlene Reimer, Pacholok, Yuill, and Mayor Rob Balay all voiced doubts about the reliability of self-reporting and questioned how it would be enforced.
Rowan said although peace officers are under no obligation to report outbound vicious animals, he said he’s seen officers reach out to the receiving municipality with a courtesy call.
Additional suggestions from Yuill included hiking the vicious animal registration fee from $150 to at least $300, and considering an outright ban on pets deemed dangerous.
“Other municipalities don’t allow vicious dogs in their area, so families pack up and move to other areas that allow them,” said Yuill. “Why would we allow them to move into town with a vicious animal?”
While Rowan said a condition that owners must erect signs indicating a vicious animal lives on the property would be within the legal boundaries, he was unsure about the legality of outright barring them.
Coun. Sara Graling disagreed with Yuill’s ask to include vet expertise to the review committee, questioning the feasibility of the request, and also gave her take on the prospect of a ‘no vicious animals’ policy.
“I think about humans that are released to the public after crimes, and they have freedom,” said Coun. Sara Graling. “It’s extremely difficult to say that a dog wouldn’t be allowed in the community if you can’t control a human coming into your community.”
Bylaw changes
If councillors pass third reading of the bylaw after reviewing the amendments, the animal control bylaw will replace the current responsible pet ownership legislation passed in 2019.
While licensing costs and many fees have remained the same, a number of new offence fines have been added for owners of vicious animals. The new fines range from $250 for failing to notify the town of the sale, transfer or death of a vicious animal, to $2,000 for failing to maintain $500,000 of third-party liability insurance.
The new draft bylaw also houses a more robust definition of ‘at large,’ a new clause prohibiting the torment, annoyance and abuse of animals, and new sections for licensing provisions, animal control operations, and inspecting and remedying contraventions of the bylaw.
According to Rowan’s statistics presented to town council from August 2023 to July 2024, he has responded to 81 calls related to the responsible pet ownership bylaw, a majority of which dealt with cats or dogs at large. In January of this year, one dog owner was charged for a bite complaint, and reports of aggressive pet behaviour were received in August and October of 2023.
