District of Clearwater has adopted an animal control bylaw and needs to find ways to enforce it, according to chief administrative officer Leslie Groulx.
The municipality presently contracts with Thompson-Nicola Regional District of bylaw enforcement. However, the TNRD has given notice that it will no longer provide general bylaw enforcement as of Jan. 1, 2017. Also, the bylaw officers are not designated animal control officers, nor do they have specific training or supports to fulfill that role.
Over the past three years, District of Clearwater has received 20 complaints, of which nine have been in relation to aggressive dogs, Groulx reported.
Hiring an animal control company based in Vernon would be expensive, although the company has offered to train a local person to save costs.
Another option would be to give the contract of the Commissionaires of BC, which offers full bylaw and licensing services.
Option number three would be to hire a person in-house to do the job, although Groulx said the cost would be prohibitive.
Town council directed staff to continue investigating the options and bring back a report.
