As the Yukon’s Animal Protection and Control Act comes into force with new regulations, those who drafted the act say it will hold animal owners accountable, clarify the rules on cosmetic surgeries and promote public safety.
“This will be achieved in many ways, including ensuring owners are responsible for the welfare and supervision of animals and enacting legislation to address the hazards posed by packs of dogs wandering unrestrained,” territorial Environment Minister Nils Clarke told reporters at the legislature building on April 8.
The goal is to be outcome-based and non-prescriptive, for example, when dealing with differences between communities addressing animals roaming at large.
The act and regulations went into effect on April 5. In turn, the Pounds Act, Dog Act and Animal Protection Act that the new legislation replaced were repealed.
Government officials said implementing the new act and regulations will centre on outreach and educating people to comply rather than punishing them and immediately taking their animals away.
Dr. Mary VanderKop, chief veterinary officer from the Department of Environment, described it as a “big piece of legislation with a whole lot of detail.”
VanderKop said a key concern brought forward by communities and stakeholders is around how this new legislation is going to be enforced.
“I think it’s become really important to be transparent about how enforcement will take place,” she said.
“While officers under the legislation will be peace officers and they will have authority to undertake a variety of actions, one thing that’s beneficial in legislation is that they now have the authority to not just go in and investigate but actually to issue, after they’ve done an inspection or follow up on the complaint, to issue orders to people that outline the gap between what they’re doing and what they’re required to do.”
VanderKop said local authority and cooperation from communities in how enforcement will work is needed.
“We will be looking to appoint deputy officers,” she said.
“They’ll have quite a bit of limited authority relative to a full officer, but they will still be able to support people in their community in understanding the requirements of legislation. They will be backed up by the actual officers who work with Yukon government, as well as by the RCMP.”
Much of the enforcement will be done on a case-by-case basis, per VanderKop.
During the technical briefing, officials indicated the overhaul of animal protection and control laws was prompted by the death of Shane Glada-Dick on Oct. 15, 2015. A coroner’s report notes that dogs running at large is a public safety issue that caused his death. Thus, the issue of dogs running at large must be dealt with to prevent another death from a dog-involved attack or incident.
The coroner’s report notes the limited enforcement actions previously available when it comes to capturing free-roaming dogs, holding them or fining the owners, licensing or registering the dogs and requiring the owner to take responsibility.
The coroner’s report adds the community of Ross River lacks the capacity or authority to fully address the situation of problem dogs.
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com