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Town of Coaldale
Domestic Animal Bylaw 862-R-01-23
May 23, 2023
BYLAW 862-R-01-23
TOWN OF COALDALE
PROVINCE OF ALBERTA
A BYLAW OF THE TOWN OF COALDALE
TO REGULATE THE KEEPING OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS
IN THE TOWN OF COALDALE
WHEREAS by virtue of the powers conferred upon it by the Municipal Government Act
Revised statutes of Alberta 2000, Chapter M-26, the Council of the Municipality of the
Town of Coaldale may pass a Bylaw with respect to domestic animals and activities in
relation to them;
AND WHEREAS the Council of the Municipality of the Town of Coaldale, in the
Province of Alberta, deems it expedient to pass such a Bylaw;
AND WHEREAS Town of Coaldale Bylaw 539-R-02-05 and amendments thereto
currently govern the Domestic Animals within the Town of Coaldale
AND WHEREAS by virtue of adopting this Bylaw, Bylaw 539-R-02-05 and amendments
thereto are hereby rescinded
NOW THEREFORE, THE COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF COALDALE DULY
ASSEMBLED HEREBY ENACTS AS FOLLOWS:
1) Title
a) This Bylaw may be cited as the "Domestic Animal Bylaw".
2) Definitions
a) In this Bylaw, unless the context otherwise requires:
i) "Highway" means any thoroughfare, street, road, trail, avenue, parkway,
driveway, viaduct, lane, square, bridge, causeway, trestleway or other place,
whether publicly or privately owned, any part of which the public is ordinarily
entitled or permitted to use for the passage or parking of Vehicles and
includes:
(1) a sidewalk (including a boulevard portion thereof);
(2) where a ditch lies adjacent to and parallel with a roadway, the ditch; and
(3) where a Highway right of way is contained within fences or between a
fence and one side of a roadway all the land between the fences or all
the land between the fence and edge of the roadway as the case may
be.
ii) "Inspector" means
(1) A Public Health Inspector
(2) A Peace Officer
(3) A Bylaw Enforcement Officer as appointed under the Municipal
Government Act, or
(4) A Peace Officer appointed under the Peace Officer Act.
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Town of Coaldale
Domestic Animal Bylaw 862-R-01-23
May 23, 2023
iii) "Livestock" means horses, cattle, emus, sheep, alpacas, ostriches, llamas,
swine, mules, donkeys, goats, rabbits, and other fur-bearing animals raised
in captivity excepting dogs and cats.
iv) "Ornamental, Exotic and Game Birds" means including but not exclusively
limited to Partridge, Quail, Pheasants, Peafowl, Doves, Swans, Cranes, and
other species of aquatic and wildfowl, and any related species deemed
inappropriate by an inspector.
v) "Owner" means:
(1) A person who has legal control of Livestock, Poultry, Ornamental, Exotic
and Game Birds, and includes any person who has possession or
custody of Livestock, Poultry, Ornamental, Exotic and Game Birds either
temporarily or permanently, or harbours a Livestock, Poultry,
Ornamental, Exotic and Game Birds; or
(2) The owner or occupant of land upon which Livestock, Poultry,
Ornamental, Exotic and Game Birds are kept.
vi) "Peace Officer" means:
(1) A Peace Officer appointed under the Peace Officer Act;
(2) A Police Officer as appointed under the Police Act;
(3) A member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police;
(4) A Bylaw Enforcement Officer as appointed under the Municipal
Government Act.
vii) "Poultry" means chickens, turkeys, geese, and ducks.
viii) "Town" means the Municipal Corporation of the Town of Coaldale, in the
Province of Alberta or, where the context requires, a duly authorized official
of the Municipal Corporation of the Town of Coaldale or, where the context
requires, the area that is contained in the boundaries of the Town of
Coaldale.
3) Prohibitions
a) No person shall keep Livestock, Poultry, Ornamental, Exotic and Game Birds or
bees unless such Livestock, Poultry or bees are kept within the following
locations:
i) lands classified as "Urban Reserve" in compliance with the Land Use Bylaw;
ii) lands in which an existing use does not conform to the Land Use Bylaw
continues legally where the permitted or legal non-conforming use involves a
farm, an intensive livestock or poultry operation, a packing plant, a livestock
auction market, a livestock brokerage facility, a feed lot or a similar
operation;
iii) pet shops;
iv) slaughter houses;
v) exhibition grounds;
vi) auction markets;
vii) veterinary clinics or veterinary hospitals;
viii) sportsplex; and
ix) outdoor sports facilities.
b) Notwithstanding Section 3.a;
i) two pet rabbits may be kept per household
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Town of Coaldale
Domestic Animal Bylaw 862-R-01-23
May 23, 2023
ii) two goats may be kept on a property larger than 1 acre in size where the
property owner has received permission to do so in writing from the Town,
which may be revoked at the sole discretion of the Town.
c) Lands that were annexed as a part of the April 1, 2018, annexation where a
landowner can provide evidence that livestock was kept on their property
immediately prior to the annexation (as in livestock were kept on the property
within the calendar year leading up to the 2018 annexation), and the livestock
that was kept on the property was kept in accordance with all applicable
Lethbridge County bylaws. Evidence considered suitable includes physical
evidence on the property as noted by the inspection of orthographic imagery
and/or the inspection of the property and the property file. Whether or not
evidence is considered suitable is to the discretion of the Town.
d) An Owner shall not create, establish or maintain;
i) a stable or other building in which Livestock, Poultry, Ornamental, Exotic and
Game Birds are kept in such a manner or in such numbers as to be injurious
or dangerous to health or which may hinder in any manner the prevention or
suppression of disease;
ii) any accumulation or deposit of offensive matter, refuse, offal or manure,
wherever situated excepting a Highway, which
(1) is injurious or dangerous to health,
(2) may hinder in any manner the prevention or suppression of disease; or
(3) may provide a breeding place for flies or creation of odours;
(4) any accumulation or deposit of offensive matter, refuse, offal, or manure
on a Highway.
4) Control of Livestock, Poultry, and/or Ornamental, Exotic and Game Birds
a) All Livestock, Poultry, Ornamental, Exotic and Game Birds not under the direct
control of a person shall be placed in a fenced or other secure area which will
prevent the free roaming of such Livestock, Poultry, Ornamental, Exotic and
Game Birds.
b) An inspector may capture and confine such Livestock, Poultry, Ornamental,
Exotic, or Gamed birds when they are on:
i) Public land owned by the Town of Coaldale including Highways;
ii) Public land owned by the Crown; or
iii) Privately owned land without the consent of the owner of those lands;
5) Inspector
a) Upon receiving a complaint of a violation of this Bylaw, an Inspector shall inquire
into the facts, visit the place complained of, and if necessary, hear the statement
of any person in connection therewith and for such purposes may enter upon,
inspect, and examine the place.
b) An Inspector has authority to order immediate compliance to this Bylaw when
violations of this Bylaw are occurring on public lands or Highways or where
violations on private land are deemed to be so severe that they pose an
imminent hazard to the public.
c) An Inspector has authority to order the removal of Livestock, Poultry,
Ornamental, Exotic and Game Birds from any land and store same at an
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Town of Coaldale
Domestic Animal Bylaw 862-R-01-23
May 23, 2023
appropriate holding facility with the cost of housing, feeding and storage of said
Livestock, Poultry, Ornamental, Exotic and Game Birds charged against property
of the Owner as taxes due and owing and collectible in the same manner as
taxes.
d) Upon capturing Livestock, Poultry, Ornamental, Exotic and Game Birds pursuant
to Section 4.2 of this Bylaw, an Inspector shall:
i) report the capture to the Regional Livestock Investigator and the Department
of Agriculture of the Province of Alberta; and
ii) within forty-eight (48) hours of the capture complete a statement of capture
and expenses incurred in connection with the capture and confinement to the
Regional Livestock Investigator.
6) Violations of Bylaw
a) If an Inspector believes that a person has violated any provision of this Bylaw,
the Inspector may serve upon such person a written notice requiring such
person to abate the same within a time to be specified in the notice, and to
execute such works and do such things as may be necessary for that purpose.
b) Service of a notice shall be sufficient if it is:
i) Personally served;
ii) Served by mail; or
iii) Left with a competent person residing with the person alleged to have
violated a provision of this Bylaw.
c) Such notice shall be deemed to have been received seven (7) days from the
date of mailing.
d) Each notice shall:
i) describe the location at which a violation of any provision of this Bylaw
occurs by its municipal address and legal description;
ii) state the contravention of this Bylaw;
iii) give reasonable particulars of the actions required to be made;
iv) state the time within which the actions are to be done;
v) state that if the required actions are not done within the time specified, the
Town may:
(1) carry out the actions required and charge the cost thereof against the
Owner; or
(2) cause a violation ticket to be served upon the Owner pursuant to Part 2
of the Provincial Offences Procedure Act.
e) If a person served with a notice fails to comply with the notice within the time
fixed by the notice the Town may:
i) Cause a violation ticket to be served upon such person pursuant to Part 2 of
the Provincial Offences Procedure Act; or
ii) Carry out the actions required in a notice at the expense of the person
served with the notice. If the expense and cost incurred by the Town is not
paid by the person responsible, the Town may:
(1) Recover the expense and cost by action in a court of competent
jurisdiction; or
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Town of Coaldale
Domestic Animal Bylaw 862-R-01-23
May 23, 2023
(2) Charge the expense and cost against the property of the person served
with a notice as taxes due and owing and collectible in the same manner
as taxes.
7) Penalties
a) A person who contravenes this Bylaw is guilty of an offence and liable for a fine
as prescribed under the Provincial Offences Procedure Act.
b) A Violation Ticket issued pursuant to Section 6.5 of this Bylaw shall impose
penalties as follows:
i) $250.00 for a first violation; and
ii) $500.00 for any subsequent violation.
8) Exemptions
a) The Alberta Birds of Prey property located at Plan 9012294 Block 8 Lot 8
(2124 16 Avenue) is exempt from the provisions of this Bylaw.
b) The property located at Plan 534EW. Block B (1501 20 Street) will be exempt
from the provisions of this Bylaw until there has been a change in the land use
on said property. Once there have been no horses on this property for a term of
6 months, this provision will no longer be in effect. Once said property is sold, the
new owners will not be exempt from this bylaw and the terms.
9) Council Intent
a) It is the intention of the Town that each separate provision of this Bylaw shall be
deemed independent of all other provisions herein and that if any provisions of
this Bylaw be declared invalid, all other provisions thereof shall remain valid and
enforceable.
10) Effective Date
a) This Bylaw shall come into force and effect when this Bylaw has achieved third
reading and is duly signed.
11) Repeal of Bylaw
a) Bylaws 539-R-02-05 and all amendments hereto are hereby repealed in their
entirety.
READ a FIRST time this 23rd day of January, 2023, for Domestic Animal Bylaw 862-R-
01-23.
___________________________
___________________________
Mayor - Jack Van Rijn
CAO - Kalen Hastings
Motion: 18-2023
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Town of Coaldale
Domestic Animal Bylaw 862-R-01-23
May 23, 2023
A Public Hearing was held for Domestic Animal Bylaw 862-R-01-23, at 5:45pm at the
Regular Council Meeting held on May 23, 2023.
READ a SECOND time this 23rd day of May, 2023, for Domestic Animal Bylaw 862-R-
01-23.
___________________________
___________________________
Mayor - Jack Van Rijn
CAO - Kalen Hastings
Motion: 183-2023
READ a THIRD and FINAL time this 23rd day of May, 2023, for Domestic Animal Bylaw
862-R-01-23.
___________________________
___________________________
Mayor - Jack Van Rijn
CAO - Kalen Hastings
Motion: 184-2023