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THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWNSHIP OF SABLES-SPANISH RIVERS
BYLAW NUMBER 2015 - 08
Being a Bylaw to Regulate the Keeping and Feeding
Of Animals Other Than Dogs and Cats
WHEREAS Section 5 of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25 requires that a municipal
power be exercised by bylaw;
AND WHEREAS Section 10(2) of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25 provides that a
municipality may pass bylaws respecting the social well-being of the municipality, animals
and protection of persons and property;
AND WHEREAS the Council of the Corporation of the Township of Sables-Spanish Rivers
considers it desirable for the public to enact a bylaw providing for the keeping of animals
other than dogs or cats within the Municipality and to prohibit the feeding of wildlife within
the Municipality;
NOW THEREFORE the Council of the Corporation of the Township of Sables-Spanish
Rivers HEREBY ENACTS AS FOLLOWS:
Interpretation
In this Bylaw:
"animal" includes any mammal, bird or reptile, other than a dog or cat;
"animal control officer" means a person appointed by Council as a Municipal Bylaw
Enforcement Officer to enforce the provisions of this Bylaw and includes a police
officer and any agent of the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals;
"attractant"- shall include any substance that could be reasonably expected to attract
wildlife or does attract wildlife, including but not limited to food products, pet food,
feed, pellets, vegetables, grain, fruit, or salt.
"at large" means to be found in any place other than the premises of the owner of the
animal and not under the control of a person in such a manner as to prevent escape;
except where the owner of the property permits the animal to be on his or her
property;
"cat" means a male or female feline of any breed of domesticated cat or crossbreed of
domesticated cat;
"colony manager" means individual(s) caring for colonies of feral cats within the
Municipality, Colony Managers by definition are not owners of the cats as defined in
this by-law;
"control" includes care and custody;
"Council" means the Council of the Corporation of the Township of Sables-Spanish
Rivers;
"device"- shall mean any feed stands, salt blocks, or other mechanisms employed to
feed animals;
"dog" means a male or female of the domesticated canine species;
ʺdomestic fowlʺ means any feathered vertebrate animal living in or near the
habitations of humans and not being wild; shall include, but not be limited to hens,
chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys but shall not include pigeons, song birds or vertebrates
commonly kept as domestic pets including domestic cardinals, finches, budgies,
bulbuls, canaries, tanagers, amazons, cockatoos, onures, macaws, parakeets, cockatiels,
lorikeets, touracos, toucans, orioles, mynahs, magpies, barbets, ascaris, pied hombills
or cock-of the-rocks.
"dwelling unit" means one or more rooms connected together as a self- contained,
separate unit in the same building comprising all or part of the building and
constituting an independent housekeeping unit for residential occupancy by persons
with facilities for persons to sleep, cook and eat and including its own sanitary
facilities;
"feed or feeding"- shall mean the intentional act of giving, exposing, depositing,
distributing, or scattering any edible material with the intention of feeding, attracting
or enticing any animal but does not include baiting during legal activities or any
attempt to confine a dog or cat for the purpose of causing it to be impounded pursuant
to this bylaw;
"feral cat" a cat found in the Municipality that has no owner, is not socialized and is
extremely fearful or resistant to humans;
"feral cat colony"refers to a group of mostly or all feral cats that congregate as a unit
and that are managed by a Colony Manager. Colony Managers must be affiliated or
an agent acting on behalf of or in conjunction with a registered charitable or not for
profit organization actively involved in program of spaying or neutering feral cats in
the colony.
"keeps" means to own, keep, harbour, maintain or feed a cat, dog, or animal;
"Municipality" means the Corporation of the Township of Sables-Spanish Rivers;
"natural"- shall mean food or other substances consumed by wildlife produced by, or
existing in nature, not artificial;
"owner" includes any person who keeps, possesses, harbours a dog, cat or animal or
allows the animal to remain on his premises, and for the purposes of this By-law shall
include any person who fosters any animal from a recognized animal shelter or rescue;
and, where the owner is a minor, the person responsible for the custody of the minor
and "owns" has a corresponding meaning;
"premises" means the entire lot on which a single dwelling unit building or a multi-
dwelling unit building is situate;
"public property" includes all lands owned by the Municipality, any local boards, any
corporations owned or controlled by the Municipality and includes all Crown lands;
"recognized animal shelter or rescue " A not-for-profit or charitable organization,
whose mandate and practices are predominately the rescue and placement of animals,
and facilitating the spaying or neutering of animals, or for animal welfare purposes;
"wildlife "shall mean any animal which is wild by nature and not normally
domesticated in Ontario.
PART 1 - ANIMAL KEEPING
Exotic animals
1.1
No person shall own, harbour, possess, keep, sell or offer for sale any animal listed
below as a pet or for any other purpose or for any period of time (Examples of animals of a
particular prohibited group are given in parentheses. They are examples only and shall not
be construed as limiting the generality of the group):
a)
all artiodactylous ungulates, except domestic goats, sheep, pigs, cattle, bison and
llamas and alpacas;
b)
all canidae, except the domestic dog;
c)
all crocodilians, (such as alligators and crocodiles);
d)
all edentates (such as anteaters, sloths and armadillos);
e)
all elephantidae (elephants);
f)
all erinacidae (except the african pigmy hedgehog);
g)
all felidae, except the domestic cat;
h)
all hyaenidae (hyenas);
i)
all marsupials (except sugar gliders);
j)
all mustelidae (such as skunks, otters and weasels), except the domestic ferret;
k)
all non-human primates (such as gorillas and monkeys);
l)
all pinnipeds (such as seals, fur seals and walruses);
m)
all perissodactylous ungulates, except the domestic horse and ass and mule;
n)
all procyonidae (such as raccoons, coatis and cacomistles);
o)
all pteropodidae (bats);
p)
all raptors, diurnal and nocturnal (such as eagles, hawks and owls);
q)
all ratites except for agricultural uses, such as ostriches, rheas and cassowaries;
r)
all ursidae (bears);
s)
all viverridae (such as mongooses, civets and genets);
t)
all poisonous or venomous arachnids (including but not limited to spiders);
u)
all poisonous or venomous lizards;
v)
all lizards whoʹs adult length exceeds one metre
w)
all snakes of the families pythonidae and boidae and all snakes whoʹs adult length
exceeds one metre;
x)
all snapping turtles;
y)
all venomous reptiles;
z)
any endangered species as defined by the Canadian Wildlife Service.
Exceptions
1.2
Section 1.1 shall not apply to:
a)
premises operated by the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
Animals;
b)
a veterinary hospital under the control of a licensed veterinarian;
c)
holding a licence under any statute of the Legislature of Ontario or the Government of
Canada, which permits the keeping of animals under stated conditions;
d)
any animal being displayed or exhibited for a set period of time in a municipally
sanctioned event which is operated in accordance with all bylaws of the municipality;
e)
the premises of an Institution of Education where such animals are being kept for
research, study or teaching purposes, or on premises registered as Research Facilities
under the Animals for Research Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. A.22, as amended.;
f
any professional film production company in the areas of the Municipality in which
professionally produced films are being made, during filming.
Additional conditions
1.3
The keeping of the following animals is subject to the following conditions:
Rabbit Keeping
1.3.1 A person may keep not more than six (6) rabbits over the age of 8 weeks in any
dwelling unit or premises in the Municipality provided such person ensures:
(a) that any rabbit routinely kept outside is kept in a rabbit hutch:
(i).
constructed such that the ground floor of the rabbit hutch is not less than
0.5 meters above ground level;
(ii).
constructed in such a way as to prevent escape by the rabbit;
(iii).
located at a distance not less than 12 meters from any dwelling unit, shop
or store not occupied by the person keeping the rabbits; and
(iv).
located at a distance of not less than 1.2 meters from the property line.
(b) all refuse and waste matter from any rabbit hutch is disposed of daily in a proper
and sanitary manner and no such refuse or waste matter is burned or stored; and
(c) all food for the rabbits is maintained in a rodent proof container.
Pigeons Keeping
1.3.2 A person may keep not more than 10 pigeons in a dwelling unit or premises
within the Municipality provided such person ensures that:
(a) the pigeons are confined in a pigeon loft;
(b) any housing of pigeons building which is erected, used or maintained as a pigeon
loft for the:
(i).
has interior walls which are smoothly finished and painted;
(ii).
is constructed in such a way as to be rodent proof;
(iii).
has a floor which is at least one half meter (0.5) above ground level;
(iv). is constructed in such a manner as to prevent the escape of the pigeons
therefrom;
(v).
is located at a distance of not less than 1.2 meters from any store, shop,
dwelling unit or apartment building not occupied by the owner;
(vi).
is located at a distance of not less than 1.2 meters from the property line.
(c) the inside walls of any building which is erected, maintained or used as a pigeon
loft for the housing of pigeons are washed, cleaned or calcimined on the inside
at least every six months;
(d) the floor of any building which is erected, maintained or used as pigeon loft for
the housing of pigeons is properly washed each week with water and soap and
detergent whether the floor is constructed of wood or concrete;
(e) all refuse and waste matter from the pigeon loft is disposed of daily in a proper
and sanitary manner and no such refuse or waste matter is burned or stored;
and
(f) pigeons are not permitted to escape from or leave the pigeon loft at any time.
Tippler - Homing - Racing - Pigeons
1.3.3 Nothing in this By-law shall be deemed to prohibit any person who is a
member of an organized and generally recognized pigeon club from keeping any
number of tippler, homing or racing pigeons in the rural zone of the Municipality,
provided the person ensures:
(a) he or she complies with the provisions of paragraphs 1.3.2 (a) - 1.3.2 (e)
inclusive:
(b) the tippler, homing or racing pigeons:
(i).
are given liberty for not more than one hour in each forenoon and one hour
in each afternoon; and
(ii).
are banded with an identifying leg band issued by the organized and
generally recognized pigeon club to which the person belongs.
Snakes, Lizards, Insects
1.3.4 Any person keeping on a dwelling unit and premises in the Municipality, non
- venomous snakes, non-venomous lizards or non poisonous or venomous insects
must ensure they are housed in and kept in an escape proof enclosure.
Household Birds
1.3.5 Any person keeping on a dwelling unit and premises in the Municipality,
household birds must ensure they are housed in and kept in an escape proof
enclosure.
Horses, Domestic Fowl, Cattle, Goats. Swine, Mink, Sheep and Mules
1.3.6 Any person may only keep horses, domestic fowl, cattle, bison, goats, swine,
mink, sheep, mules or similar livestock, on a property appropriately zoned for such
purpose by the governing zoning bylaw in effect from time to time for that property.
Prohibited from being at large
1.4
No owner of an animal shall cause, allow or permit an animal he or she owns to be at
large within the limits of the Municipality.
1.5
Domestic animals, not including dogs and cats and domestic fowl as defined by this
by-law, must be contained, when not kept indoors, within the owner's property by means of
fencing or other reasonable method including but not limited to pens and flight cages so as to
not disturb or hinder any neighbouring properties from the enjoyment of such property.
PART 2 - PROHIBIT THE FEEDING OF WILDLIFE
2.1
No person within the Municipality shall intentionally feed, cause to be fed or provide
or make available food attractants or other similar substance for the consumption of wildlife
within the boundaries of the Municipality, on either private or public property.
2.2
No person shall place or allow any device or other material to be placed outdoors or
on any public or private property for the purpose of attracting or feeding wildlife.
2.3
Every person shall promptly remove any attractions placed on any property in
violation of this Bylaw.
2.4
Every person shall promptly remove any device placed on the owner's or occupier's
property to which wildlife are attracted or from which wildlife actually feed. Alternatively, a
person may modify such device or make other changes to the device that prevents wildlife
from having access to feeding from the device.
Exemptions
2.5
This Bylaw shall not apply to:
(a) Any natural product that is growing on a particular land where wildlife is
feeding;
(b) Licensed Wildlife Custodians that are the legal owner of the wildlife and the
wildlife is kept under a valid certificate or permit, and is in compliance with
any Provincial or Federal permitting requirements;
(c) The feeding of song birds on a property provided the following feeding
requirements are met by the owner or occupier:
(i) Seed is placed in a bird feeding device that is sufficiently above grade so as
not to attract or be accessible by wild animals; and
(ii) Bird feeding practices do not attract large flock of homing birds such as
wild, feral or domestic pigeons; and
(iii) Spillage of seed upon the ground is removed by the property owner or
occupier forthwith and disposed of in a manner that it does not attract
wild animals, feral or stray domestic animals.;
(d) Registered and Private Land Trappers; Licensed Bear Management Area
Operators, wild game farms, wildlife, animal control or pest management
agencies;
(e) Private vegetable gardens, flower beds and related compost stations.
(f) Licensed hunters actively engaged in hunting or training for hunting, on
unposted land or on posted land with the permission of the owner.;
(g) the leaving of food as bait in a trap by a property owner to capture a animal
inhabiting or habituating their property pursuant to the Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Act, 1997, S.O. 1997, c. 41;
(h) the leaving of food as bait by a licensed trapper, and employee of a licensed
wildlife or pest control agency, a Municipal Law Enforcement Officer, an Ontario
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Inspector or a Police Officer, in the
performance of their work;
(i) the leaving of food for the purpose of providing life sustaining resources, ie: deer
or wild turkey, or as a bait in a trap for feral or stray cats by a person or agent acting
on behalf of or in conjunction with a registered charitable or not for profit
organization actively involved in program of spaying or neutering feral cats in a
colony or having a mandate to care for feral or stray animals.
PART 3 - SEVERABILITY / CONFLICT
3.1
If any section, subsection, part or parts of this Bylaw is declared by any court of law to
be bad, illegal or ultra vires, such section, subsection, part or parts shall be deemed to be
severable and all parts hereof are declared to be separate and independent and enacted as
such.
3.2
Nothing in this Bylaw relieves any person from complying with any provision of any
Federal or Provincial legislation or any other Bylaw of the Municipality.
3.3
Where a provision of this Bylaw conflicts with the provisions of another Bylaw in force
in the Municipality, the provision that establishes the higher standard to protect the health,
safety and welfare of persons or the environmental well-being of the municipality shall
prevail.
PART 4 - ENFORCEMENT
4.
Every person who contravenes any of the provisions of this Bylaw is guilty of an
offence and upon conviction is liable to pay a fine as provided for in the Provincial Offences
Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.33, as per Schedule 'A' to this bylaw.
PART 5 - SHORT TITLE
5.
This Bylaw shall be known as the by-law "TO REGULATE THE KEEPING and
FEEDING OF ANIMALS"
READ A FIRST AND SECOND TIME THIS 25TH DAY OF FEBRARY, 2015.
____________________________________
MAYOR - L. GAMBLE
____________________________________
ACTING-CLERK - A. WHALEN
READ A THIRD AND FINAL TIME AND PASSED IN OPEN COUNCIL THIS 25TH DAY OF
FEBRUARY, 2015.
____________________________________
MAYOR - L. GAMBLE
____________________________________
ACTING-CLERK - A. WHALEN
Schedule 'A' - Bylaw 2015-08
SET FINE
ITEM COLUMN 1
Short Form Wording
COLUMN 2
COLUMN 3
Set Fine
excluding
Court Costs
1.
Own prohibited animal
Section 1.1
$250.00
2.
Fail to abide by the conditions for
keeping an animal
Section 1.3
$250.00
3.
Permit animal to be at large
Section 1.4
$250.00
4.
Fail to contain animal
Section 1.5
$250.00
5.
Feed wildlife
Section 2.1
$250.00
6.
Attract wildlife
Section 2.2
$250.00
7.
Fail to remove attractant of wildlife
Section 2.3
$250.00
8.
Fail to remove device to which
wildlife are attracted
Section 2.4
$250.00
The penalty provision for the offences indicated above is Part 4 of Bylaw 2015-08