City plans to adopt new bylaw for effective animal control in Swift Current

The City of Swift Current intends to implement a new animal control bylaw to address gaps in previous regulations and to have appropriate tools available in dealing with animal complaints.

Council members approved a notice of motion during a regular council meeting on Feb. 5 to inform the public of their intention to adopt a new animal control bylaw.

The proposed new bylaw will replace the current Animal Control Bylaw, which was created in 1991, and the existing Dangerous Animal Bylaw, which has been used since 2003. The new bylaw will address some conflicting details between these two existing bylaws as well as The Cities Act with regard to dangerous animal violations and enforcement.

“The updated bylaw will provide consistency, ensure the bylaw meets with legislative requirements, is applicable and enforceable, and will enhance community safety and the wellbeing of people and animals within the City of Swift Current,” City Clerk Jackie Schlamp told the meeting.

The details of the new bylaw have previously been discussed and reviewed by council members during two of their governance and priorities committee meetings.

Updates in the new bylaw includes amendments to impound regulations and daily housing fees, revised regulations to prohibit the keeping of exotic and wild animals, the appointment of animal control officers, specifying additional fines for previously undefined violation notices, and updating the fine amounts paid for any violations as well as new fees for cat and dog licenses.

“Increased fines are intended to discourage contravention of the bylaw, while licensing fees now reflect rates comparable with other cities,” she said. “Licensing fees contribute to funding for SPCA services and operations, and support the Swift Current dog park by allocating $2 from each dog license issued directly to the park. The updated licensing rates will be reflected on any new license and for existing licenses when due for renewal.”

The new bylaw includes details that were part of the previous regulations. It specifies the responsibilities of cat and dog owners to prevent their animals from running at large and becoming a nuisance.

Schlamp told this newspaper during a follow-up inquiry that council members will vote on the adoption of the proposed new bylaw at the next regular council meeting scheduled for Feb. 20.

She noted the changes to the new bylaw reflect evolving best practices and are comparable to bylaws used by other cities of a similar size to Swift Current. A need for a review of existing regulations also became necessary due to an increase in animal complaints over the past three years. These complaints have mostly been about dog behaviour and varied from barking and being left unattended to being at large as well as chasing, attacking or injuring a person or another animal.

“With that we had several matters go before the courts, either to trial or interim orders from the presiding judge setting out specific conditions upon the animal or owner to having the animal removed from City limits,” she said. “With these situations it was noted that our Animal Control Bylaw was due for review.”

She emphasized that the overwhelming majority of pet owners within the city are diligently and lovingly take care of their pets and they are working hard to help maintain public safety.

“In the relatively few instances that dangerous situations occur involving dogs, this new Animal Control Bylaw will provide the City with more options to quickly respond,” she said. “We now have the ability within the bylaw, if a matter is going to go before the court, we can have that animal surrendered and impounded or removed from the city until the actual matter is heard before a judge.”

The increased fines in the new bylaw will hopefully act as a deterrent and help to make pet owners more aware of their duties and responsibilities when owning an animal in the city. The City sold 495 dog licenses and 125 cat licenses in 2023. There were 74 animal complaints during 2023 that required follow up, which varied from violation notices to educational information to an animal owner. There were 61 court summonses issued to pet owners who received a ticket for a bylaw violation and then did not pay their ticket.

The City feels animal licensing serves a purpose for various reasons. It helps to promote responsible pet ownership and a sense of accountability, it can help to prevent incidents of neglect or mistreatment, it makes it possible to identify and return a lost animal and it helps with enforcement of bylaw violations. There is a discounted licensing fee for spayed or neutered and vaccinated animals, which is another way to promote responsible pet ownership that avoids overpopulation and disease.

The new bylaw will make a difference with effective enforcement, but Schlamp noted that public education is equally important to ensure responsible pet ownership. The City will therefore be providing relevant information after the formal approval of the new bylaw to create awareness about expectations and responsibilities.

“We will provide information in the coming weeks to assist all pet owners to do their part and take the necessary steps to ensure that they and their pets comply with the new requirements,” she said. “Our biggest thing is public safety. Council passed our strategic plan and we want to make sure that we are following our guidelines of a safe, caring community. And this definitely falls within that.”

Council approves year-end write off of uncollectable accounts:

Council members approved a motion during the Feb. 5 regular council meeting to write off uncollectable amounts from accounts that have been outstanding since Dec. 31, 2021.

The City has exhausted all avenues to collect the money owed on these delinquent accounts and therefore has no other option but to write it off. A total amount of $69,385.72 was uncollectable, but the City also had $424.25 in unclaimed deposits that will be written off against the delinquent accounts. This will result in an actual amount of $68,961.47 being written of for utility and general accounts receivable.

Vicky Sutherland, the manager of human resources, presented the report to the council meeting. The City will continue with efforts to collect the money owed if new contact information for account holders are found.

“Also, if that customer applies for a City of Swift Current service in the future, any unpaid balance from the previous account(s) must be paid in full prior to issuing a new account,” she said.