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Elkford mulls cat licensing proposal

District of Elkford councillors have voted to give first reading to a proposed bylaw for licensing cats.
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District of Elkford councillors have voted to give first reading to a proposed bylaw for licensing cats.

According to district staff, the district’s bylaw officer “receives regular complaints about cats being at-large in Elkford, and entering private property without permission.”

Currently, cats are prohibited from being at-large (meaning free to wander within the district and on neighbouring properties without the consent of the owner). District staff reported that complaints of cats ‘at-large’ were hard to follow-up on due to the cats being difficult to locate, alleged owners denying ownership and lack of evidence of the offending felines.

A solution proposed by staff was to introduce a cat licensing program the same as the existing dog licensing program.

“The introduction of licensing for cats may assist in this enforcement as all cats, once licensed, will be tracable to an address,” reads the staff report on the proposal. “Staff anticipate that the initial push to get cats licensed may take some time and effort.”

Councillors voted in support of the proposal.

READ MORE: Elkford seeks community input on Downtown Master Plan



scott.tibballs@thefreepress.ca
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