Bowden cat owners may soon face the same regulations as dog owners as the Town of Bowden modernizes its animal control bylaw.
At its Feb. 25 meeting, Bowden council examined and suggested changes to a draft bylaw which would, if passed, replace an existing animal control bylaw that is now more than 10 years old.
According to a Town of Bowden staff report on the draft bylaw, changes to animal control policies are needed to "reflect changing community standards.î
The existing bylaw includes no specific regulations for cat owners but if the draft bylaw is adopted, cat owners would need to purchase cat identification tags from the town on a yearly basis.
Furthermore, council proposed changing the wording in the draft bylaw's licensing and impounding fees section to have the section titled "Annual licence for dogî changed to "Annual licence for dog and cat.î
The cost of an annual licence under the draft bylaw for cats would be $30 for animals that are spayed or neutered and $40 for cats that are not and these rates would take effect at the beginning of 2014 should the draft bylaw be adopted.
Currently, cat owners can voluntarily obtain a one-time licence for free from the town.
The current annual licence fees for dogs are $15 for animals that are spayed or neutered, $20 for those that are not and $100 for restricted or "vicious dogs.î
Those feesóexcept the vicious dog rate, which remains the sameó will increase to $30 for altered dogs and $40 for unaltered dogs as of Jan. 31, 2014, regardless of whether the draft bylaw passes.
Although Coun. Cory Jasper stated in comments included in the draft bylaw that, along with equal licensing fees for cats and dogs, cats should face the same restrictions as dogs and should not be allowed to run free within the town, council decided not to include cats in a section in the draft bylaw requiring dogs to be leashed when on public property.
The staff report on the draft bylaw stated such a change "may have an unfavourable effect on rodent control in our municipalityî and Coun. Sheila Church said cats cannot be controlled in the same way as dogs and it would be "foolishî to make a regulation that is not enforceable.
The draft bylaw, if passed, also includes a stipulation that if a dog is left in the care of a person for 30 consecutive days or more, that person will be considered the dog's owner and will have to buy a dog licence.
And exotic animals would be regulated under the draft bylaw, with council having the discretion to grant licences for exotic animals such as snakes, reptiles, mammals, birds or spiders not indigenous to Canada and not commonly kept as household pets.
Keeping dangerous animals such as constricting snakes or poisonous spiders or failing to keep exotic pets in an escape-proof enclosure would yield fines ranging from $250 to $500.
Coun. Patrick Doll also suggested the town, using information collected through the licensing process, could inform emergency services about any exotic animals or vicious dogs in the community in case of emergencies at those residences.
Andy Weiss, the town's chief administrative officer, agreed and stated in an email to the Olds Albertan that Doll's idea "will be incorporated into our internal policies and will be indicated on registration forms that the exotic animal owners fill out.î
The changes agreed upon by council will be applied to the draft animal control bylaw, which has not yet received any readings.
Weiss said town staff are working on preparing an updated version of the draft bylaw with council's suggestions and he hoped to have a copy of the draft available at Bowden Town Hall and on the town's website for the first week of March.
The public will have a chance to offer its input on the draft bylaw prior to first reading, he added.
