SUNDRE – With the exception of birds, a new bylaw that was unanimously approved by the Town of Sundre's council bans the public from feeding wildlife in town.
“This bylaw has been discussed for a number of years,” said Linda Nelson, the municipality's chief administrative officer.
“In the past, there was some hesitation on bringing a bylaw such as this forward. But the request has come forward again by our community peace officer,” Nelson said on Feb. 24 during a regular meeting attended by all members of council.
Town staff, she added, has previously dealt with wildlife in the past and had pushed for the bylaw, which has been reviewed by Fish and Wildlife, she said.
“They are also excited to see the bylaw come forward,” she said.
“Feeding of wildlife has caused concerns for the safety of citizens and the health of various species,” she said, adding the bylaw supports prevention and implementation of corrective measures to reduce the risks related to human-wildlife contact.
In response to follow-up questions, community peace officer Sam Zhao said that in 2023, there were 17 incidents involving deer that died as a result of vehicle strikes or digestive issues caused by eating feed that they can’t properly process. In 2024, that number doubled to 34 and had already reached 13 by the end of February 2025.
Consequently, Zhao said the animals are usually found dead in people’s backyards, driveways, under trees or near highways.
The six-page bylaw in part states that, “For reasons of public health and safety, and to avoid conflict between humans and wildlife, it is forbidden to feed any type of wildlife within the boundaries of the Town of Sundre.”
The bylaw prohibits people from leaving “an attractant outside a residence, commercial, industrial, or institutional building, on a trail, or in a park, that results in the feeding of wildlife.”
An officer may, if prudent and safe, remove any vessel used to feed wildlife and dispose of the food, and confiscated containers will be held for a period of 30 days after which they will be disposed of in a suitable manner if not reclaimed.
That all being said, the placement of an outdoor bird feeder that contains bird feed, seeds, suet, nectar, or any other attractant remains permitted “provided that the bird feeder is suspended on a cable or other device in such a manner that it is inaccessible to wildlife other than birds.”
The only other exemptions are for enforcement officers who might need to leave food as bait in a trap to capture sick or injured wildlife. Officers are defined in the bylaw as a range of officials including but not limited to the town’s bylaw and community peace officer as well as Fish and Wildlife and RCMP.
Additionally, a licensed trapper, employee of an officer or pest control agency licensed by the province are also exempt from leaving food as bait in the performance of their duties.
In the event an officer has reasonable grounds to believe someone has contravened any provisions of the bylaw, they may serve upon such person a citation.
Anyone deemed to be in contravention of the bylaw is liable to be fined. A first offence has a penalty of $75 that increases to $150 on second offence and $300 on subsequent offences. Repeat offences may be subject to fines that are “double in value.”
Council was unanimous in supporting the bylaw, which carried with back-to-back readings.
“It’s a good idea that we have this in there because there is a lot of feeding going on around town and it’s attracting more and more animals,” said Coun. Connie Anderson, adding that having more deer by extension increases the risk of attracting predators as well.
Coun. Owen Petersen supported giving enforcement officials the legal teeth without which officers are unable to act.
“It frustrates me that Fish and Wildlife don’t do anything with their wildlife,” said Petersen. “They’ve asked for this before, I think it’s time we do this.”
Recalling a deer-feeding incident from last year, he said, “I was approached by numerous residents that felt unsafe on town paths because of the large concentration of deer.
“It also frustrates me as well knowing how bad this is for the deer to be fed all of these foods they do not (naturally) eat,” he said.
“I know it’s wonderful to see deer and have them in our backyard, but I think this is time to just shut this down and stop feeding the deer in town.”
Coun. Todd Dalke, who joined the meeting remotely by phone, pointed out some bird feeders are so large that keeping away squirrels is essentially impossible.
However, whether someone in such an instance is fined ultimately comes down to the discretion of the responding officer, said Nelson.
Additionally, since the bylaw is new, administration can monitor the situation and can moving forward conduct more research, she said.
“And if an amendment is required, we would bring that back.”
The bylaw can be found in full on the town website in council’s agenda package for the Feb. 24 meeting.
