WESTLOCK – The Town of Westlock has drafted a cat control bylaw and is looking for feedback until Jan. 13.
“We are committed to creating a safe and reasonable environment for everyone in our community,” reads the Town of Westlock’s website on the bylaw information.
“To address increasing concerns and improve the management of cats in our community, we are proposing a new Cat Control Bylaw.”
This bylaw is necessary to define enforcement needed to address complaints and concerns about cats in the community.
The cat control bylaw was introduced at the Nov. 18 Town of Westlock Committee of the Whole Meeting and is scheduled to be presented to Council at the Jan. 27 Town of Westlock Council Meeting.
If the new bylaw is passed it will require cats within the town of Westlock to require licensing so lost cats can be returned to their owners. It will also support cats in disaster situations so emergency responders can know what animals are in affected homes so they can properly care and support them, according to the town's website.
Licensing will also help the town enforce bylaw complaints.
The draft bylaw currently limits households to no more than three cats.
The Town of Westlock follows an education-first enforcement model. That means the focus is on education of the bylaws first and enforcement second in order to keep community harmony and ensuring responsible pet ownership is in place.
Area peace officers investigating complaints will evaluate several factors before determining if an offence has occurred and what the next steps should be in a case-by-case basis.
The Cat Control Bylaw does not have an impoundment clause.
The current impoundment setup does not have the resources or capacity to impound strays.
The draft bylaw is available for review on the town's website.
The timeline for feedback from the community members started Dec. 9 and ends on Jan. 13 so there is still time to get your views in.
You can email your feedback to the office at [email protected]
