Animal control develops softer touch

The days when pound officials dealt strictly with rule-breakers are long gone.

Winnipeg’s Animal Services takes a more compassionate approach in cases where residents have more pets than is allowed under the city bylaw.

As a result, the number of excess animal calls have dropped substantially.

“Rather than going in heavy-handed and trying to solve problems through ticketing and enforcement action, we’re trying to work with the community more,” said Zoé Austin, general manager of the agency, which is supported by tax dollars and donations.

So far in 2026, animal services has recorded only six excess animal calls and the low number is part of a larger trend.

Under the bylaw, a person is limited to six dogs and cats over six months old, or four dogs alone over six months.

In 2025, 23 excess animal calls were logged, a drop of more than 60 per cent compared to 2020, when 64 calls were recorded and a decrease of 50 per cent compared to the five-year average.

“What we’re looking (to do) is form a relationship with the person on the other end of the call,” said Austin.

She said excess animal calls are often rooted in mental-health issues or an attempted rescue gone sideways. By providing education, support and resources, Austin said staff work to break the cycle of excess.

“We’re getting them access to spay and neuter services and then slowly starting to solve the problem over time, rather than going in, excuse the expression, ‘guns ablazing,’ taking all these animals away,” she said. “Because that’s also very tough for the people who are on the other end of it.”

While total numbers on animal hoarding from across the province were not available, a provincial spokesperson said Manitoba’s animal protection officers “regularly respond” to situations in which a large number of animals are being kept contrary to the Animal Care Act.

Hugh Moran, executive director of the Manitoba Veterinary Medical Association, supports the effort, saying less animals in distress mean less work for Manitoba’s vets.

“If it’s the improvement of animal health, animal protection and animal safety, that’s a good thing,” said Moran.

He said while the association’s more than 900 vet and vet-tech members are always ready and willing to help animals, the goal is keeping them out of harm’s way to begin with.

“Animals are no different than people,” he said.

“You want to be in a healthy environment … If you put animals into stressful environments, there’s going to be implications.”

Tails of Freedom Rescue Inc., recently detailed its removal of 60 cats from a hoarding situation involving a single home. The rescue estimates it cost $20,000 in intake and veterinary expenses.

Austin said whenever there’s a rescue of such size, the strain is immense. It’s why a proactive approach is so critical, as opposed to one where pets end up in the pound and owners are punished.

“That doesn’t really connect people to the resources they need,” she said. “And once we are gone from that scenario and the enforcement action ends, sometimes that problem starts back up again.”

Information from the city indicates interventions can sometimes happen much later than hoped.

In 2024, officers removed 68 dogs from a single property and last year they removed 43 birds from a Winnipeg residence.

In such cases, Austin said, agency staff will assign one officer to a case to ensure a rapport is built between the officer and the pet owner.

“We have to build trust with people in order for them to be honest with us,” she said.

She said the creation of an internal vet clinic, which has been operating since March, will help reduce excess animal calls, as the agency is able to spay and neuter animals that enter its care as opposed to relying on mobile vet services.

“There are all kinds of things happening enforcement-wise and within the shelter itself that moves us away from the city dog pound and more toward a really compassionate model of sheltering.”

morgan.modjeski@freepress.mb.ca