Exotic animals exempted from draft animal control bylaw
A draft new animal control bylaw for Thorold would impose fines for people who fail to take care of dogs and cats, who don’t register their dogs with the city and who fail to control dangerous dogs, but it won’t regulate the keeping of exotic animals such as lions, tigers, primates and alligators.
Earlier this month, city politicians got a look at the proposed new animal care and control bylaw, which has suggested fines and fees ranging from $50 to register a dog with the city to $500 for failing to properly tether a dangerous dog.
But the bylaw, which deputy clerk Bonnie Nistico-Dunk said would come back to council for approval once the various fines and fees are approved by the province, stops short of covering various wild animals.
In November of 2009, an earlier, draft bylaw crafted with the help of the Lincoln County Humane Society would have in most cases prohibited animals including bears, primates, tigers, leopards, panthers, cougars, wolves, foxes, coyotes, reptiles such as gila monsters, vipers, cobras, alligators, pythons and anacondas, elephants, sea mammals such as dolphins and whales, and venomous spiders such as tarantulas and black widow spiders in Thorold.
The push for banning exotic animals came after police and the humane society found three lions, a jaguar, monkeys and macaws in enclosures on a property on Kottmeier Road in Thorold.
Kevin Strooband, executive director of the humane society, said Thorold was one of two of the five municipalities the humane society covers that doesn’t have bylaws regarding the keeping of exotic animals. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources doesn’t have jurisdiction over lions and tigers because they’re not native animals to Ontario, the way bears are, Strooband said.
But a number of people – including some who have exotic animals —– showed up at city council in late 2009 to warn that the bylaw would simply create a secretive black market for the selling of exotic animals.
The city subsequently dropped regulation of exotic animals.
The draft new bylaw contains sections stipulating the proper care of domestic animals such as dogs and cats, covers kennels, limits the number of pets people can in most cases have, has provisions for dealing with dangerous dogs, and would prevent the trapping of animals in a cruel manner.
The report from Nistico-Dunk also called for the city to prepare a letter to be sent to the province, supporting a call from other Ontario municipalities asking for some kind of standardized, province-wide legislation dealing with dangerous and exotic animals.
www.niagarathisweek.com/news/article/970272--exotic-animals-exempted-from-draft-animal-control-bylaw
