The mayor of Didsbury and reeve of Mountain View County want a review of the agreement between the municipalities that prevents the town's animal control officer from going onto county lands to rescue a distressed cat.Currently the agreement, driven by the county for the enforcement of its Dog Control Bylaw, allows Didsbury's animal control officer to take custody of a dog if called upon. However, cats are off limits.But following this month's tragedy at the Didsbury landfill site where seven kittens were found battered and near death and ultimately euthanized, Mayor Brian Wittal and Reeve Bruce Beattie agree it is time to look at the agreement with a goal of making changes to allow the town's animal control officer to help distressed cats within the county's jurisdiction.The land at the Didsbury landfill site, located two kilometres northwest of the town, is owned by the Mountain View Regional Waste Management Commission but is within the county's jurisdiction.Jeff Holmes, the county's director of legislative, community and agricultural services, said the agreement, created in 2004 between the county and the town, is “specifically and exclusively” for dogs. He said animal control was an area that used to be contained in the county's Land Use Bylaw but was pulled out in 2010. A new Animal Control Bylaw was created and county council decided to exempt and deregulate cats, said Holmes.However, Beattie wants to take a look at why there is no provision within the bylaw and agreement with Didsbury to rescue a distressed cat.“We need to sit down and talk about it. I'm open to that,” said Beattie, who expressed surprise when told many jurisdictions throughout Alberta have bylaws to regulate cats. “Any animal in distress should have some assistance whether it is a cat or some other type of animal.”Wittal said a new agreement should become part of the new protocols the waste management commission is creating to help staff deal with distressed animals found at the landfill site.Earlier this month, Don Reid, the commission's chief administrative officer, admitted no official protocols were previously in place to deal with abandoned animals. He said the tragic kitten incident has prompted the agency to work with the Wild Rose Humane Society to have protocols in place for staff within the next 30 days.“We have to have protocols in place to manage the situation when it arises, whatever it takes to better respond to these situations,” said Wittal. “I would like to see clarification on where we need to make changes and adjustments.”He said issues of responsibility and payment of services are also issues that need to be addressed.Wittal said while rural cats have considerably better coping skills than urban cats to take care of themselves outside they still deserve the same level of protection and care.“It's not something you like to see any time. We can't ignore them,” said Wittal of the seven kitten deaths earlier this month. “I am aware that cats are really important for many people. They are often part of a family.”The kitten incident, which triggered a waste commission and RCMP probe, came to light with a Sept. 4 report that seven kittens, believed to be only five to seven days old, were discovered in a bin that had arrived from Olds.A waste commission and RCMP probe revealed the kittens were placed in a warm box by staff and then taken out of the facility by a driver.RCMP said its probe revealed the driver soon discovered one kitten was already dead, another near death, three were suffering from broken legs and two were significantly bloodied. He said the driver believed he had no other option but to destroy the animals as “painlessly and humanely” as possible.
