How Calgary solved its euthanization problem
It took Calgary about 15 years to create its “responsible pet owner” model that resulted in one of the lowest animal abandonment and euthanization rates in North America.
It hadn’t been done before, “so we had to learn from scratch, and try things, and fail, and try them again,” Bill Bruce, the city’s former head of animal services, told the Montreal Gazette.
Now that the template has been created, he believes Montreal could adopt a similar model within three to four years.
“It’s a lot of work, but it pays huge dividends,” Bruce said. “In North America, we don’t have a problem with overpopulation and stray animals — we have a problem with responsible pet ownership.”
Calgary started with a long public-awareness campaign. The message to residents: paying for an annual dog or cat licence (now $39 and $18, respectively) is not just a tax, but helps attain a much higher rate of return of lost pets to their owners.
The licence fees also go toward paying for inspectors and the city’s animal-services centre, which allows the city to put abandoned animals up for adoption instead of euthanizing them.
Overall, the Calgary approach has led to fewer animal issues and a safer community for everyone, Bruce said.
Pet owners are asked to perform four tasks: license your pets and equip them with an identification tag or microchip; sterilize them; ensure their physical and psychological health through exercise and diet; and don’t let them become a nuisance.
“If you can do those four things, you can have any animal you want, and as many of them as you want,” Bruce said.
Calgary dismissed the idea of banning certain breeds of dogs, as Montreal tried to do, saying research has shown breed-specific legislation does not result in fewer attacks. Instead, the city follows up on reports of aggressive behaviour, and advises owners of training that is necessary if they want to keep their animals. In 98 per cent of cases, owners comply, Bruce said.
Calgary built its latest animal services centre in 2000 for $3.5 million. An extension for veterinary services quarters was added later a cost of $1.5 million.
At 21,000 square feet, it’s half the size of Montreal’s proposed shelter, despite the fact Calgary has a similar number of dogs as Montreal — roughly 120,000, but less than half the estimated number of cats (90,000).
Calgary decided it would not need a large centre because it did not plan on holding the animals for long. The shelter has spaces for 84 cats and 80 dogs, and cages tend to be mostly empty.
During his time there, from 2000 to 2012, Bruce said 95 per cent of the roughly 5,000 dogs that came in each year were either returned to their owners or put up for adoption.
Only 4.5 per cent had to be euthanized, because of extreme health or behavioural problems. Current figures are roughly the same, he said.
Revenue generated by licence fees covers the $6-million annual cost of operating the shelter and paying its two dozen animal inspectors and other employees.
In Montreal, thanks to a concerted push under the last administration, the number of dogs that are licensed jumped from about 15 per cent in 2013 to 48 per cent today, the city says.
“Changing the model from euthanization to responsible pet ownership is a complicated process, but there are a lot of people in Montreal that want it, so hopefully they can pull it off,” Bruce said.