OLDS — Town council has agreed to keep a list of animals not allowed in town in its community standards bylaw despite that fact that some councillors think it goes too far by banning exotic animals like elephants, which they say would probably never be kept by residents.
Kangaroos, whales, giraffes, pigeons, rhinoceroses and all “non-human primates” are among other animals on that list.
Coun. Mitch Thomson and Coun. Heather Ryan were among the councillors who found the list to be a case of over-regulation.
"For example, the green iguana, you can buy them at pet stores, yet they’re not allowed in the town of Olds,” Thomson said. “(It should just say) any animal that is not licensed period, is not allowed in the town of Olds.”
“I don’t think anybody’s going to keep an elephant as a pet, and if they are, then that’s just – go to Africa or Asia or wherever they are, you know. Who would keep that in the back yard in the town of Olds? So I just think it's ridiculous,” Ryan said.
"Anyway, when you start listing off animals, there’s always going to be somebody who’s going to say, ‘hey, that animal’s not on the list, I’m going to flaunt that,’ or ‘I’m going to exploit that.’
“I think you just say ‘no wild animals’ or you put down ‘all these domestic animals,’ or you put down ‘only licensed animals.’”
Senior peace officer Eric Christensen agreed it may seem “funny” to include some of the animals on the list “but if it’s not in there, then it allows it.”
"If we don’t put something in there that says that they’re not allowed to have prohibited animals then we have no enforcement tool if they do have one,” Christensen added.
Director of protective services Justin Andrew indicated that just using the phrase ‘wild animals’ might not be sufficient.
“The problem with when we make a generic statement such as ‘no wild animals’ (is) what is the definition of a wild animal,” Andrew asked.
“Who determines that ‘this is my pet boa constrictor that is tame; it’s not wild’ and somebody else views it as ‘no, that is a wild animal.’”
In the end, deputy mayor Debbie Bennett and Coun. Mary Jane Harper said they didn’t want to make it too onerous for peace officers to do their job, so they agreed it might be best to leave a list of prohibited animals in the bylaw.
Bennett said the bylaw is a ‘living document,’ so councillors can change their minds later if they wish.
“As much as l love rhinos I know I can’t have one, so I’d rather list the domestic animals that we can have and we’ll deal with whatever provincial and federal acts of animals as they come in,” Bennett said.
“There’s a reason why our sergeant has presented it,” Harper said.
