Report points to added costs with cat bylaw

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on January 19, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

Would a cat bylaw be a perfect fit for Lethbridge?
A report was submitted to city council on Tuesday about the viability of such a bylaw.
In response to an inquiry submitted by acting mayor Rajko Dodic on Dec. 2, General Manager of Regulatory Services Duane Ens states there is no legal impediment to council implementing such a bylaw.
In his response, Ens states ‘the larger question becomes what resources are needed to enforce cat provisions.”
Ens wrote that such a bylaw was presented to council in 2006 and an analysis was done which included a review of other jurisdictions that had similar bylaws on the books.
“The report showed that we should expect requests to enforce the bylaw and the number of cats that need to be housed, to significantly increase once a bylaw is passed. Given this, there may not presently be capacity at the animal shelter to effectively enforce new regulations,” his report stated.
That issue and others will be looked at this year when Regulatory Services begins a planning initiative to review operations at the shelter. That review could include possible new animal bylaws and is expected to start after completion of the tender process for the animal shelter and once operations are stabilized at the shelter.

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