Cats, dogs, chickens and honeybees will be some of the animals City Council will discuss at Monday’s regular Council meeting.
Fundamental areas of pet ownership to be discussed, with administration seeking direction from City Council on the following decisions:
- Whether to license cats and, if so, whether we limit the number of cats.
- The limits on the number of dogs.
- The number of urban chickens to a licence and the number of licences.
- Whether to allow honeybee hives.
Administration’s recommendations stem from a multi-year public participation process, industry consultation, as well as technical expertise from enforcement agencies and ecological experts. Through the public participation, we heard from residents that their top three issues as they relate to pets in Red Deer are:
- Roaming cats
- Dogs off leash
- Enforcement ability
“Through a future Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw, our intention is to address these top concerns, ensure the safety of pets and residents, and reduce nuisance factors,” said Amy Fengstad, Acting Inspections & Licensing Manager. “With roaming cats being the number one pet-related issue heard, we believe our recommendation to introduce a cat license will help this issue, while also improving our ability to re-unite lost cats with their owners.”
A future Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw would combine four bylaws that currently regulate animals in our city into one bylaw, including the Dog Bylaw, Cat Bylaw, Urban Chicken Bylaw and aspects of the Community Standards Bylaw.
As part of Monday’s discussion there will also be a budget ask. Council will be presented with four options related to budget as additional funds would be required to enforce future regulations under a future potential bylaw.