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By Alessia Proietti

Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw

Less cats and more chickens: Red Deer discusses potential pet bylaw

Apr 18, 2023 | 4:05 PM

A new Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw may be coming to Red Deer later this year.

At their meeting on Monday, city council discussed fundamental components related to pet ownership and endorsed four key principles for a future bylaw.

They include:

1. Potential to license cats with a maximum of six cats per household
2. Maintain the limit of three dogs per household and include exceptions for new residents
3. Maintain maximum of four urban chickens per licence/household and remove cap on the number of licences available
4. Prohibit honeybee hives, excluding provincially licensed hives, and continued ongoing support for pollinator parks and natural area preservation initiatives

The new bylaw would combine four bylaws that currently regulate animals in the city: the Dog Bylaw, Cat Bylaw, Urban Chicken Bylaw and aspects of the Community Standards Bylaw relating to livestock.

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The City says a multi-year public participation process occurred from October 2020 to October 2022 regarding pet-related issues, hearing from over 1,000 participants with the top issues relating to roaming cats, dogs off leash and proper enforcement of bylaws.

CATS

Unlike dogs, cats are currently not required to be licensed. The City says studies show that roaming cats cause a negative impact to the bird population.

They say there is a 15 per cent claim rate for cats and if licensed, could provide a connection to reunite the animal to their owners. However, as the registration’s software system is dog-specific, modifications can add $40,000 in operational costs annually.

CHICKENS

The current Chicken Bylaw caps the number of licences for households to 102 licences based on the population. Administration says there are on average 100 households on the waitlist for a licence. Communities like Lacombe, Rocky Mountain House, Edmonton, and Grande Prairie, among others, do not have restrictions.

They note data suggests four chickens does not produce enough eggs for larger families of four or more to be fully self-sustainable.

Upon trial of the new bylaw, the City says the number of chickens per household could be increased to the recommended six in the Environmental Master Plan in the future.

HONEYBEES

While there are currently no bylaws that address honeybee hives in the city, provincial registration shows 77 beekeepers live in Red Deer, but may have hives located elsewhere.

City officials say a Native Bee Inventory conducted within Red Deer in 2022 indicates the city has great native bee diversity, especially in natural areas.

In Alberta, officials state there are over 300 wild bee species with almost half being poorly understood or declining. They say endangered bee species are known to occur in Red Deer and could potentially be negatively impacted by honeybees through disease transfer and competition for limited food.

The Alberta Native Bee Council says honey bees are not a native livestock species and were brought overseas from Europe by early settlers for pollination. They say today, there are almost twice as many wild bees in the province as there are mammals, fish, amphibian, and reptile species combined. They note researchers estimate that urban beekeeping in Calgary has increased by 900 per cent over the past ten years, with Red Deer likely to be similar.

However, officials are saying that honey bees are not the answer to pollinator decline. Instead, they say increased awareness is necessary of the diversity and value in native bee species, and how to protect them through habitat protection, reducing pesticide use, and education.

ENFORCEMENT

The City says the bylaws are enforced with patrols, responding to complaints, picking up and providing care for injured or stray animals, and running at adoption program for unclaimed animals.

Council also approved on Monday one-time funding of $45,000 to maintain the current service levels, including enforcement costs, which have increased due to inflation, volumes, complexity of enforcement files, and costs to care for surrendered or unclaimed animals. They say the increase of $45,000 in ongoing costs will be approximately 0.03 per cent more in property taxes in 2024.

Administration says first reading of a new bylaw will come back to council for consideration in Fall 2023.