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Changes made to town dog bylaw involving breeds |
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Wednesday, 26 March 2008 |
It's final - the Town of Taber has more teeth in its dog bylaw, as its former dog bylaw has been revised and updated.
By Jennifer Elves
Taber Times
At its meeting Monday the Town of Taber town council gave third and final reading to the updated and revised version. At its meeting March 11 town council gave third reading to the new dog bylaw but could not go further with it, because proceeding with third and final reading was not agreed on unanimously by council.
Prior to voting on unanimously agreeing to proceed with third and final reading at that meeting, Coun. Terry Sargeant questioned whether the public had been informed of the proposed changes. Following the meeting town administration placed a press release in the town ad section of the Taber Times to notify local citizens of the new bylaw and enable them to review the bylaw if they wanted to.
On Monday's meeting Coun. John Papp advised he has heard from some people dogs, who are deemed to be restricted by a bylaw officer, peace officer or designate of the town administrator should still be required to wear muzzles.
"It is the dog owner who needs to be training and not so much the dog," said Papp.
He added, at the same time, dogs should have the chance to prove themselves and not be declared restricted based solely on their breed as they were under the previous bylaw.
Sargeant questioned whether the town had received any correspondence from the public since the revised and updated bylaw was made public. He was informed by Rob Cressman, the town's public service's manager the town did not receive any correspondence from community members regarding the bylaw.
The new bylaw would no longer have the Breed Specific Legislation (BSL), which currently automatically restricts an animal based on its breed. Previously, owners of dogs on the restricted list had to do things like obtain special licenses, use special handling tactics such as use of muzzles and had to have a chained area in their backyards. Dogs on the list could not be in the public, unless accompanied by an adult.
Under the new bylaw, owners of dogs listed as restricted only have to follow specific regulations like those ones if their dogs are deemed aggressive by a bylaw officer, peace officer or designate of the town administrator based on a situation where they showed a propensity for aggression, or chased, attacked or injured a person or other animal.
The previous list of restricted dogs is still included in the dog bylaw with the only reason for its inclusion being to identify who will not be able to file an appeal if a bylaw officer, peace officer or designate of the town administrator deems their dog aggressive. Objections by owners of other breeds of dogs will be heard by the Aggressive Dog Committee, which will consist of the town administrator, a peace officer and an elected town official. Town council will have representation on the committee, based on a rotation of its members so each member takes a turn serving.
After declaring a dog as aggressive, the bylaw officer has to notify the owner of the dog, if possible, indicating the dog will be destroyed or certain conditions must be met unless a notice of objection is appropriately delivered. The peace officer, bylaw enforcement officer and or the Aggressive Dog Committee may place any or all of the following conditions on the owner of dogs that are declared to be aggressive: Require the dog to be confined indoors and under control of the owner at all times. Require the dog to be secured when outdoors in a structure constructed to prevent the escape of an aggressive dog and capable of preventing entry by anybody not on control of the dog. Require the dog undergo mandatory alteration. Order the dog to be muzzled while away from the owner's property. Require the dog to be wearing a harness or leash on a lead not exceeding one metre when away from the owner's property to prevent it from chasing, injuring or biting any human or domestic animal and prevent damage to any private or public property.
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