By 
The cat bylaw has made progress towards being enforced.
The regional council has passed a motion last night to remove cats from the new bylaw and to include them under legislation created for nuisance.
What this means for cat owners is that they’d be fined with a $200 penalty if their cat poops on or damages the property without the owners fixing it immediately. There will be no license required for owning cats, nor a shelter worth a few million dollars – as was being considered in the cat bylaw. Things have changed course over the past few weeks and taken some turns of its own.
The motion comprised of bypassing a public hearing as well since there had already been a consultation with the community last fall. The councilors had voted 19-2.
Councilor David Hendsbee had voted not in favor, arguing that people’s opinion should be considered and the process was being circumvented.
Bedford Councilor Tim Outhit, the newest member of the council, contended that we have spoken to over 2,000 households and read hundreds of emails – which has made us confident of people’s opinion, and they have already heard enough about the subject.
Bob Harvey, Councilor of Sackville, stated that the issue is now more political in nature than being about animal nuisance. Harvey explained that the original intent had been lost, which was to bring cats under the purview of the bylaw and bring order to this situation. He also argued that the law will not work efficiently unless cat have been licensed.
Comments