Proposed pet bylaw upsets animal lovers
Limiting households to two pets will create new fines for animal owners, critic says
Neal Hall, Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, April 09, 2008
At least one pet owner in the rural town of Agassiz is upset that the district council, citing increasing housing development, is trying to limit the number of dogs and cats to two per household.
"What's happened in a rural town like this, we've had a lot of densification," said Lorne Fisher, mayor of the District of Kent, which includes the town of Agassiz. "Where there [once was] one house to an acre, now there are 12 townhouses. The population is getting more dense."
The new two-pet bylaw is expected to be passed later this month, the mayor said.
"It becomes an emotional issue," Fisher said, discounting a claim by one resident that the new bylaw would result in thousands of illegal dogs and cats.
The current bylaw allows for three dogs, with no limit on the number of cats.
The new bylaw will limit the number of pets to two for each household, or six or more cats/dogs if a person has a kennel licence on a property that must be 1.2 acres (half a hectare) or larger.
Wallace Mah, chief administrative officer of Kent, said the municipality is trying to listen to the concerns of residents about the pet bylaw.
Mah said a public meeting was held in December to discuss the matter and another delegation will be heard April 14, which could result in amendments to the bylaw.
"We're trying to be very accommodating for the animal lovers in the community -- and I'm one of them," said Mah, who has two dogs.
Jeri Patterson, a resident in the area who runs the Agassiz Rescue Kennel, said she is concerned the new bylaw will make thousands of cats and dogs in the area illegal, resulting in fines for pet owners.
"I know people who have three dogs and four cats," she said. "That's five over the bylaw limit. If the bylaw passes, those animals will become illegal."
Mah and Fisher, however, said any pets over the new limit will be allowed or "grandfathered" until the pets die. But Patterson said there is no grandfather clause or grace period specified in the bylaw.
Vancouver lawyer Chris Murdy, who specializes in municipal law, said Kent is not the first municipality to bring in an animal control bylaw to limit the number of pets per household. West Vancouver and New Westminster have similar bylaws, he said.
© The Vancouver Sun 2008
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