CANMORE – A new bylaw in Canmore will limit the number of off-leash dogs at Quarry Lake, cap the amount of permitted cats and dogs per home and increase fines for those with off-leash dogs.
The updated animal control bylaw permits no more than three off-leash dogs per person at Quarry Lake, which is intended to minimize potential wildlife conflict at the busy location.
“I’ve always had concerns with the proliferation of dogs up in Quarry Lake," said Coun. Joanna McCallum, who brought the amending motion forward and noted the area is extremely popular in summer for people and a prime spot for animals such as elk and deer.
“I think limiting it to three limits it to the household definition and really limits what you can manage with care and control of your animal within a tense setting if you were to come across wildlife,”
Coun. Tanya Foubert said with council having adopted its human-wildlife co-existence implementation and action plan as well as receiving recommendations to enhance the Lower Silvertip wildlife corridor at its March meeting, it was vital to offer better protection for wildlife.
“It really underlines how important our pets are to our community, but our wildlife is also important and we have an obligation to steward the environment as council,” she said.
Coun. Wade Graham said he thought it addressed potential conflicts, particularly with Quarry Lake’s location within a habitat patch.
“I think we need to be cognizant of that and it moves in that direction,” he said.
In municipal borders, the Town has off-leash dog parks in Cougar Creek, Elk Run, Palliser and Hubman in Three Sisters. The Palliser off-leash dog park will eventually be the site of construction for a proposed four- and six-storey buildings as part of the Palliser Trail area structure plan (ASP).
Three Sisters Village and Smith Creek area structure plans each have off-leash dog parks in their plans.
As part of the bylaw review, Greg Burt, the Town’s supervisor of municipal enforcement, said the department looked at bylaws in Calgary, Edmonton and Airdrie as well as consulted with the Bow Valley SPCA and Heart Mountain Rescue. An online survey was done with dog walking businesses and local peace officers also had input.
Municipal fines for off-leash dogs will now be $250 for a first offence instead of $100, $500 for a second and $1,000 for a third offence. Burt said roughly seven out of 10 tickets are for locals, with the remainder issued to visitors. Provincial fines are separate from municipal fines.
Burt said 95-98 per cent of dog attack investigations could have been prevented had the dog been on a leash. He noted there are no vicious dogs licensed in Canmore.
“The Town’s growing. There’s more visitors coming to town and we’re trying to reduce potential wildlife impacts. We do get quite a few complaints about owners who don’t pick up after their dogs at dog parks. … We’re trying to prevent the potential risks as dog parks get busier and how do we further protect our wildlife,” he said.
Burt said the majority of off-leash tickets are in Quarry Lake. He noted with it being a popular spot, particularly in summer, it’s “probably the biggest area of risk of wildlife (conflict) and I think the more dogs you have the greater risk, you have of chasing, harassing, threatening wildlife.”
He added any ticket for an off-leash dog can be appealed to the Enforcement Appeal Review Committee.
The bylaw also caps permitted cats at four and three dogs in a home. Burt said only one person in the community was found to be above the permitted three dogs, but the bylaw will grandfather people in.
“We decided after consultation and review to add a limit of dogs and cats to curb potential issues regarding noise or smells,” he said.
Burt noted that “one of the most challenging fines” for municipal enforcement is dogs at large, which had 147 tickets and 53 warnings last year.
In the past, municipal enforcement would give more warnings than tickets but shifted to see if it helps to change people’s tendencies.
“It’s really for us as a community to not just keep our residents safe, but to keep their pets safe and to keep the wildlife safe. When you’re dealing with conflicts and emotions, especially around pets, things can get more intense. … Understanding that makes me believe what we have in this bylaw is a way to empower our staff and community to address these types of conflicts and situations far better than before. It’s a significant improvement,” Foubert said.
