Protection committee hangs up on call to rethink exotic pet bylaw

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This article was published 18/04/2022 (1291 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Hotly debated ideas to ban some “exotic” pets entirely and limit the numbers allowed in each Winnipeg household could soon be ruled out.

Last week, city council’s protection and community services committee voted 3-1 to delete a call for civic staff to report back within a year on responsible pet ownership bylaw changes for exotic animals.

“Exotic pet owners are fine with the current bylaw in place,” Coun. Markus Chambers told the Free Press on Monday.

On April 11, Chambers joined Couns. Shawn Nason and Ross Eadie to vote against having the public service propose changes.

The matter triggered heated debate last summer, when the city shared potential ideas, though these were never formally recommended or voted on. During a public consultation, municipal officials raised the concept of banning many types of birds, fish and reptiles from being kept as pets, by switching from a list of prohibited animals to a list of allowable ones.

Another proposal noted each household could be limited to no more than five of each type of exotic animal.

The ideas quickly sparked complaints from bird club members, pet retailers and national organizations, who feared pet choice would be greatly reduced. This winter, the national Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council of Canada launched an ad campaign, arguing the move would make Winnipeg “the most anti-pet city in all of Canada.”

The protection committee’s call to kick the exotic animal component off the agenda indefinitely is not final, since all pet bylaw changes require council approval.

Coun. Sherri Rollins cast the sole vote against removing the exotic animal piece, over concerns some owners lack the knowledge to properly care for their exotic pets.

“When a snake isn’t able to fully stretch out, when people don’t have a concept for how to take care of a bird or many birds… I’m concerned about that,” said Rollins, committee chairwoman.

Council will vote on the matter April 28.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga