Waterloo moves to give bylaw officers tools to regulate feeding of wildlife

Intent is to address excessive behaviour in residential areas

WATERLOO — Politicians voted in favour of regulating excessive wildlife feeding in Waterloo’s residential neighbourhoods on Monday.

The new rules aim to curb extreme cases of feeding wildlife that can create a nuisance and attract unwanted animals into residential areas.

“Really what we’re looking at is creating a better response to community concerns,” Shayne Turner, director of bylaw enforcement, told the city’s committee of the whole.

He said the city wants to be able to tackle severe cases where intentional feeding is at play.

It’s an annoying neighbourly behaviour Vivian Fuchs is all too familiar with.

“We have a neighbour who takes it to the extreme,” the Waterloo resident told committee.

“I’m not against tossing the occasional peanut to a chipmunk,” she said. But she has a neighbour who puts out massive sacks of nuts twice a day.

Fuchs has seen mounds of peanut shells and piles of bird droppings collect in her backyard. Possums, rats and other small critters have become frequent visitors in her neighbourhood.

“Our yards became smelly refuse heaps,” she added.

She contacted the city, local police, the humane society and a handful of provincial ministries but aside from sympathy no one could offer any help.

“Mostly because there is no bylaw in place,” she added.

Waterloo’s bylaw officers do not have the ability to regulate wildlife feeding under the current animal control bylaw, Turner said.

This amendment to the existing bylaw will give officers more “tools” to address community concerns, he said.

“We’re currently limited as to how we can respond.”

The proposed regulations will prohibit the feeding of animals in the case that it becomes a nuisance and also require offenders to stop overfeeding wildlife.

Turner said residents who meet the criteria of excessive feeding will get a city order to stop the behaviour. If city orders are ignored the city can pursue court action, he said.

Waterloo’s bylaw comes on the heels of a similar bylaw passed in Kitchener last summer.

“There are lots of stories we have heard,” Mayor Dave Jaworsky said, sympathizing with Fuchs’ dilemma.

He said he was glad to see a bylaw in the works.

Another amendment to the animal control bylaw will add a clause to protect the welfare of domestic pets to the docket of municipal bylaw enforcement duties. Right now the bylaw has minimal provisions to protect pets, Turner told committee.

It does not address situations such as pets left in unventilated areas such as vehicles, for example, Turner pointed out.

This change would give municipal bylaw officers the ability to regulate concerns of pets in distress instead of relying on officers from the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to enforce those rules.

A finalized amended bylaw will be ratified by council at a later date.