| Draft pet bylaw presented |
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| Local Content - Local News |
| Written by publisher |
| Thursday, 28 January 2010 16:01 |
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By Paul Grigaitis A draft pet bylaw that could potentially replace Maple Creek’s current pet bylaw was presented to town council on Tuesday night. The proposed bylaw limits the number of pets over four months of age to two per property, commands owners of dangerous animals to use display signs warning of the animal’s presence and incorporates a voluntary penalty payment schedule. Pets are defined in the bylaw as dogs or cats. “I think it’s safe to say it kind of sums up best practices from a number of other communities,” town administrator Mark Caswell said before introducing the town’s bylaw officer and author of the draft bylaw, Richard Drockner, to answer questions. Drockner said the proposed bylaw will increase the town’s ability to effectively deal with complaints and will force pet owners to act responsibly. “That’s what we’re really trying to focus on around here – making owners of their pets more responsible….The bylaw looks tough, but it really isn’t. If you’re a responsible owner, you’d never have a bylaw officer around or an animal control officer come to your door,” Drockner said. The voluntary payment schedule, absent from the current bylaw, allows people to pay fines associated with penalties without going through a court process. Upon making voluntary payments, people will not be liable for prosecution for the contravention. Without a voluntary payment schedule, violators must go before a judge, Drockner explained, which leaves the final decision with the judge. Licensing fees under the proposed bylaw will be lower for spayed or neutered pets and will increase for people allowed to keep dangerous pets. Pit bulls, Rottweilers and their crosses are prohibited from within town under the current pet bylaw. Administration explained that the town could opt to keep the breed-specific legislation in the proposed bylaw, but Coun. John Andreas said he has a personal problem with breed-specific rules and suggested the town instead provide a broad definition for dangerous animals. “My son was attacked by a dog,” Andreas said. “It was a quite nasty one too and to be quite frank, the dog would probably be assumed to be one of the most gentle breeds out there and it was proven that it wasn’t. So to me, we have to look at the whole dangerous animal thing.” Coun. Barry Elderkin asked that the bylaw clearly state how contravention notices are to be delivered, but said he was pleased with the initial draft. “The content is good,” Elderkin said. Drockner, admitting to some typos and a lack of details, explained that the bylaw is still in very rough form, but encouraged the town’s elected officials to approach him with any suggestions or questions that may arise. Coun. Tina Cresswell expressed the desire to gather public feedback before finalizing the bylaw. “I think we should encourage people to let us know how they feel,” she said. Mayor Barry Rudd agreed and asked council members to give it a hard look before the matter comes back for further discussion. An open house would be one way for council to gather feedback before the bylaw is finalized, Caswell explained. |
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