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Puppies under six months of age will be exempt from licensing, and feeding birds and wildlife to the extent that it becomes a nuisance to another property owner will be prohibited in proposed bylaw amendments going before Halifax regional council Tuesday.

The current bylaw states that no person shall own a dog within Halifax Regional Municipality without having obtained a licence within 20 calendar days after the person takes ownership of the dog or brings the dog into the municipality.

Municipal staff conducted a jurisdictional scan of 15 Canadian municipalities, including Vancouver, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, New Glasgow, Fredericton, Guelph and Hamilton and found that 10 had provisions regarding puppy licensing.

The legislation varies from dogs three months to six months not requiring a licence, to those of that age requiring a licence but at a reduced rate similar to that of a spayed or neutered dog.

Staff considered the option of requiring the licensing of dogs under the age of six months for free, which would provide the benefit of being able to return a licensed puppy, if found running at large, to its owner.

However, it is the experience of staff that the municipality rarely comes into contact with dogs under the age of six months.

Therefore, staff recommended exempting dogs under the age of six months from licensing.

The fees already set out in the municipality are $200 lifetime or $50 annually for an unaltered dog and $75 lifetime or $15 annually for a spayed or neutered dog. The bylaw amendment would be consistent with the advice of the majority of veterinarians that dogs should not be spayed or neutered before the age of six months, a practice that licensing young puppies might encourage.

The standing bylaw prohibits the feeding of waterfowl on lands abutting or adjacent to a lake or birds including waterfowl and pigeons on the lands abutting or adjacent to certain bodies of water.

It does not prohibit feeding of any other wildlife. The amendment prohibits any person from feeding or allowing the feeding of birds or any wildlife that creates a nuisance to an owner or occupant of any property.

Fines for violating the feeding portion of the bylaw will range from $200 to $5,000.

The staff report says the intent of the amendment is to address situations that are causing a negative impact to neighbours and neighbourhoods. The intent is not to impose an outright ban on the feeding of birds but to intervene when it becomes a nuisance.

Bird feeders will be allowed to feed birds on property with owner permission, but the nuisance it may create by attracting wildlife will be addressed through the bylaw enforcement process.

Similarly, prohibiting the feeding of wildlife is recommended to address issues that may cause a nuisance to an owner or occupant of any property.

The staff report concedes that feeding wildlife is common for people to enjoy the surroundings of their neighbourhood and their property by engaging and entertaining wildlife and purposefully attracting them by providing food.

However, this enjoyment can be detrimental to wildlife and can lead to a nuisance issue. Feeding wildlife can result in many negative impacts, such as attracting vermin that can cause property damage like racoons and rats, attracting wildlife to the point of excessive defecation that causes property damage, attracting wildlife such as deer that impacts traffic and negatively impacting the health and safety of the animals being fed, the staff report concludes.