{"id":939404,"date":"2026-10-20T00:18:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T00:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/939404\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T00:18:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T00:18:10","slug":"committee-recommends-approval-of-changes-to-calgary-pet-ownership-bylaw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/939404\/","title":{"rendered":"Committee recommends approval of changes to Calgary pet ownership bylaw"},"content":{"rendered":"

Changes have been recommended to Calgary\u2019s pet bylaw, some to help tighten rules around surrenders, nuisance animals, and to streamline the court hearing process.<\/p>\n

The Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw was last updated in 2021, and the Community Development Committee reviewed the latest amendments on Oct. 15, 2026.<\/p>\n

Fourteen amendments of varying degrees of impact were put into three categories: The court process, offences and penalties, and owner accountability.<\/p>\n

Major changes include enabling earlier intervention for animals that show aggression, adding harm to animals (instead of just harm to humans) when considering vicious animal designation, reverse onus on at-large offences, false information and obstruction rules, and an increase in potential jail time for offences (from six months to potentially one year). <\/p>\n

\u201cThis bylaw supports public safety, animal well-being, such as the cats and dogs we have at home, and pet ownership. It does this by setting expectations for our pet owners in Calgary. It promotes safe interactions between people and animals,\u201d said Pamela McHugh, business strategist with the City of Calgary.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, this is about the rules, responsibilities, and processes that guide how animal-related incidents are managed in Calgary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ward 4 Coun. DJ Kelly said the changes were common sense.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally common sense changes, I think, that are being proposed here by the administration, adjusting for what you\u2019re experiencing on the ground, what you\u2019re seeing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing in there, I think, that\u2019s any sort of red flags or any big concerns for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ward 1 Coun. Kim Tyers, who chaired the meeting, said that she felt the changes were straightforward.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe these changes to the bylaw are necessary. They seem to also enable efficiencies within our court system, save a little bit of time, and make sure that our officers are using their time more wisely, and also just protecting our community in situations where animals are involved,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Biggest impact in false complaints: Calgary Humane Society<\/p>\n

Brad Nichols, director of enforcement with the Calgary Humane Society (CHS) said that he\u2019d only first learned of the changes last week when LWC contacted the organization about the story.<\/p>\n

He said historically, the CHS had been given the opportunity to provide line-by-line feedback of proposed changes.<\/p>\n

Still, he said there\u2019s nothing overly concerning with the proposed changes. One area where he thinks the bylaw is being enhanced, specifically in an area they deal with, is in surrenders.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally coming out of the pandemic, there\u2019s a bit of an oversaturation of pets in the community. We have a lot of people trying to surrender their animals and being put on wait lists and desperate people doing desperate things,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are seeing a lot of abandonments. We\u2019re also seeing a lot of people passing off their own animals as strays. I think the wording in that obstruction section might serve to capture that and add some accountability for that type of action. At least I\u2019m hoping so.\u201d<\/p>\n

That revision to the bylaw prohibits someone from providing a false name or other false information about themselves or the animal that obstructs an officer from conducting their duties.<\/p>\n

A change that perked Nichols\u2019 eyebrow was the removal of the word repeated from the nuisance portion of the bylaw.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my mind, a nuisance behaviour is one that is repeated,\u201d Nichols said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo remove the word repeated in there, I\u2019m interested to know how that\u2019s going to be used, enforced, adjudicated, to be quite frank, and I wonder what those early interventions are when you\u2019ve got maybe one report of barking or one report of running at large.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nichols said the bylaw is missing clearer rules around urban pigeons or hens, particularly those that are surrendered or abandoned. He also said the bylaw doesn\u2019t deal with more exotic pets.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe RPO (Responsible Pet Ownership (bylaw)) has never addressed exotic animals, and those are kept as pets fairly frequently, especially rabbits,\u201d he said. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are constantly full of rabbits from surrenders, from cruelty cases, things like that, and it just doesn\u2019t seem to be an appetite to envelop animals other than cats and dogs into this bylaw.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nichols said though it is an improvement, it\u2019s a slight one, mainly done through rewording and clarifications.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just I think that if there had been an opportunity to put some additional topics for discussion, that probably would have been a good use of time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The bylaw recommendations still need final approval at an upcoming meeting of Calgary city council.<\/p>\n

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