WESTLOCK – Town councillors have once again deferred a proposed bylaw aimed at responsible pet ownership, following extended debate at their May 20 meeting.
Originally introduced as a cat control bylaw by community peace officer Kim Wood in November 2024, the proposal was first delayed at a February 10 council meeting amid concerns about how the bylaw would be enforced. Since then, the scope of the legislation has expanded to include dogs—and potentially cattle—under a broader responsible pet ownership bylaw.
During the meeting, Mayor Jon Kramer cited the example of Okotoks, where officials scrapped a registry system in favour of requiring only collars to identify dogs.
Most Westlock councillors, however, favoured keeping the current registry system and extending it to cats, which have a higher likelihood of losing their collars. Wood also voiced support for licensing as a useful tool in reuniting pets with their owners.
“I can at least say, where did you find it? What colour is it? What area was it in? I can look on my database and hopefully help,” said Wood. “I think it’s a very helpful tool for me to know what dog is in what area, because there have been times where it's very breed-specific. I can look up what owner has a dog of that breed in that area, and I've been able to reunite them.”
Despite the discussion, council opted to defer the matter once again—this time to the June 23 meeting.
“I think we could drown in trying to get this to a place of perfection,” said councillor Murtaza Jamaly. “There's no other bylaw that I can think of in its history with the municipality that has gone through as much humming and hawing as this one has.”
