Report from Corporate Support Services, Legal Services

Corporate Report

Date of Report: October 7, 2013 Date of Meeting: October 21, 2013

Report Number: CSS-326-2013 File: 10.13.9

Subject: Exotic Animal By-law – Public Meeting Follow-up

Recommendation That Council receive the report from Legal Services dated October 7, 2013 regarding amendments to Exotic Animal By-law No. 95-212, as amended, for information.

That the Exotic Animal By-law No. 95-212, as amended, be further amended to:

1) Identify certain species of non-venomous snakes and all others larger than three metres (3m) as prohibited for the purposes of the By-law;

2) Identify reptiles of the order Crocodylia, including but not limited to alligator, caimen and crocodile as prohibited for the purposes of the By-law;

3) Identify any animal that produces poison or venom that is medically significant to humans as prohibited for the purposes of the By-law; and

4) Address certain housekeeping updates; and

That the City Solicitor be directed to apply for the approval of the proposed set fine; and

That By-law No. 95-212, as amended, be then consolidated for the purpose of publishing on the City’s website and for use by the Lincoln County Humane Society; and

That the Office of the City Clerk be directed to make the necessary notifications; and

Further, that the City Solicitor be directed to prepare the necessary by-law. FORTHWITH

Summary Recent events have precipitated all levels of government to reevaluate the regulation of exotic animals, particularly large, non-native snakes.

Following the public input, staff and the Lincoln County Humane Society (LCHS) is supportive of an amendment to the By-law that prohibits certain species of non-

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venomous snakes and all others that reach an adult length of greater than three metres, members of the order Crocodylia, and any animal that produces poison or venom harmful to humans or livestock.

Background As a result of a motion made by Councillor Kushner on August 12, 2013, staff were directed to report to Council with respect to the City’s current Exotic Animal By-law, being By-law No. 95-212, as amended, and the efforts of the provincial and federal governments in this regard.

Further to the report from Legal Services dated August 27, 2013, which outlined the recommendations to amend the by-law, staff were directed to specifically address the inclusion of alligators in those amendments. This information was provided in a report from Legal Services dated September 10, 2013.

At the public meeting held on September 23, 2013, regarding the proposed amendments, deputations were made regarding the appropriateness of the recommendations and Councillor Siscoe requested further information regarding the information presented and specifically regarding the by-laws dealing with exotic animals in Toronto and Winnipeg.

Report Health, Safety and Well-being of Residents and the Environment The reports from Legal Services dated January 9, 2013 and August 27, 2013, outline the research conducted into regulation of exotic animals in other municipalities and the rational for amending the City’s By-law 95-212, as amended. As discussed in those reports, staff originally recommended prohibiting large (greater than two metres) non- venomous snakes and any animal that produces poison that is harmful to humans and livestock. The update report from Legal Services dated September 10, 2013, recommended including members of the order Crocodylia to the prohibited list.

Deputations The common thread amongst the members of the public who spoke about the proposed regulations was that the proposed two metre standard would capture more snakes than were dangerous.

Two different standards were proposed by those who presented. The first being all snakes larger than three metres and lizards larger than two metres and the second being a specific list of snakes that should be prohibited automatically and then all other snakes larger three metres.

The City of Toronto by-law currently reflects the first option discussed above, all snakes larger than three metres and lizards larger than two metres are prohibited. The relevant sections of the Toronto By-law are attached as Appendix 1 to this report.

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The City of Winnipeg by-law was passed in July of 2013. This By-law is consistent with the CanHerp recommendation and PIJAC Canada recommendation to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, which both reflect the second option, a list of prohibited species in addition to a general three metre ban on all other snakes larger than three metres. The relevant section of the Winnipeg By-law / PIJAC / CanHerp recommendation is attached as Appendix 2 to this report.

The LCHS was consulted in the preparation of this report and supports the revised amendments proposed and the set fine amount.

Financial Implications There are no financial implications; our current arrangement with the LCHS covers complaints under this By-law, as amended as would any future arrangements.

Conclusion Recent events have highlighted safety concerns regarding large snakes and the subsequent review of the City’s Exotic Animal By-law identified additional amendments that are necessary to address safety concerns regarding certain species of snakes, large snakes, Crocodylia and any other venomous animals. The proposed amendments to the By-law address these safety concerns and the input from concerned members of the public while ensuring that the By-law is not overly broad in its application.

Notification It is in order to notify Kevin Strooband, Lincoln County Humane Society, 160 Fourth Avenue, RR 3, St. Catharines, Ontario, L2R 6P9.

Submitted, Prepared and Approved by: Nicole Auty, City Solicitor/Director of Legal Services

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TORONTO MUNICIPAL CODE ANIMALS 1 SCHEDULE A TO CH. 349 PROHIBITED ANIMALS

MAMMALS Artiodactyla (such as cattle, goats, sheep, pigs) Canidae (such as coyotes, wolves, foxes, hybrid wolf dogs) except dogs Chiroptera (bats such as fruit bats, myotis, flying foxes) Edentates (such as anteaters, sloths, armadillos) Felidae (such as tigers, leopards, cougars) except cats Hyaenidae (such as hyaenas) Lagomorpha (such as hares, pikas) except rabbits Marsupials (such as kangaroos, opossums, wallabies) except sugar gliders derived from self-sustaining captive populations Mustelidae (such as mink, skunks, weasels, otters, badgers) except ferrets Non-human primates (such as chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys, lemurs) Perissodactyla (such as horses, donkeys, jackasses, mules) Proboscidae (elephants) Procyonidae (such as coatimundi, cacomistles) Rodentia (such as porcupines and prairie dogs) except rodents which do not exceed 1,500 grams and are derived from self-sustaining captive populations Ursidae (bears) Viverridae (such as mongooses, civets, genets)

BIRDS Anseriformes (such as ducks, geese, swans, screamers) Galliformes (such as pheasants, grouse, guineafowls, turkeys) Struthioniformes (flightless ratites such as ostriches, rheas, cassowaries, emus, kiwis)

REPTILES Crocodylia (such as alligators, crocodiles, gavials) All snakes which reach an adult length larger than 3 metres All lizards which reach an adult length larger than 2 metres

OTHER All venomous and poisonous animals

349-15 2009- 03-31 SCHEDULE "A" TO 2 THE RESPONSIBLE PET OWNERSHIP BY-LAW

LIST OF PROHIBITED ANIMALS (Section 36)

1 All dogs, other than domesticated dogs (Canis familiaris), including, but not limited to, wolf, fox, coyote, hyaena, dingo, jackal, raccoon dog, bush dog, and any hybrid offspring of a wild dog and domesticate dog.

2 All cats other than domesticated cats (Felis catus), including, but not limited to, lion, tiger, leopard, ocelot, jaguar, puma, panther, mountain lion, cheetah, wild cat, cougar, bobcat, lynx, serval, and any hybrid offspring of a wild cat and domesticated cat.

3 All bears, including polar, grizzly, brown and black bear.

4 All fur bearing animals of the family Mustelidae, including, but not limited to, weasel, marten, mink, badger, ermine, skunk, otter, pole cat, wolverine, except the domestic ferret (Putorius furo).

5 All Procyonidae, including raccoon, kinkajou, cacomistle, cat-bear, panda and coatimundi.

6 All carnivorous mammals of the family Viverridae, including, but not limited to, civet, mongoose, and genet.

7 All bats (Chiroptera).

8 All non-human primates, including, but not limited to, monkey, ape, chimpanzee, gorilla and lemur.

9 All squirrels (Sciuridae).

10 Reptiles (Reptilia)

(a) all Helodermatidae (e.g. gila monster and Mexican bearded lizard);

(b) all front-fanged venomous snakes, even if devenomized, including, but not limited to:

i. all Viperidae (e.g. viper, pit viper),

ii. all Elapidae (e.g. cobra, mamba, krait, coral snake),

iii. all Atractaspididae (e.g. African burrowing asp),

iv. all Hydrophiidae (e.g. sea snake), and

v. all Laticaudidae (e.g. sea krait);

(c) all venomous, mid- or rear-fanged, Duvernoy-glanded members of the family Colubridae, even if devenomized; By-law No. 92/2013 30

(d) any member or hybrid offspring of the family Boidae, including, but not limited to, the common or green anaconda and yellow anaconda, except members of the family Boidae reaching an adult length of no greater than two (2) meters;

(e) any member of the family Pythonidae, including, but not limited to, the African rock python, the Indian or Burmese python, the Amethystine or scrub python, except members of the family Pythonidae reaching an adult length of no greater than two (2) meters;

(f) any member of the family Varanidae, including, but not limited to, the white throated monitor, the water monitor, the Komodo monitor or dragon, the Bornean earless monitor, the Nile monitor, the crocodile monitor, except members of the family Varanidae reaching an adult length of no greater than one (1) meter;

(g) any member of the family lguanidae, including the green or common iguana;

(h) any member of the family Teiidae, including, but not limited to, the golden, common or black and white tegu;

(i) all members of the family Chelydridae, including snapping turtle and alligator snapping turtle;

0) all members of the order Crocodylia, including, but not limited to, alligator, caiman and crocodile;

(k) all other snakes of a species or subspecies that can reach an adult length greater than three meters, whether the particular snake exceeds that length or not; and

(I) all other lizards of a species or subspecies that can reach an adult greater than two meters, whether the particular lizard exceeds that length or not.

11 Birds (Aves) in the following categories unless they are kept as commercial animals under Part 4 of the By-law:

(a) all predatory or large birds (e.g. Accipitrids, Cathartids), including, but not limited to, eagle, hawk, falcon, owl, vulture and condor;

(b) anseriformes, including, but not limited to, ducks, geese and swans;

(d) struthioniformes, including, but not limited to, flightless ratites such as ostriches, rheas, cassowaries, emus and kiwis.

12 Arachnida and Chilopoda

(a) all venomous spiders, including, but not limited to, tarantula, black widow and solifugid, scorpion, except the following species of tarantula: Chilean Rose By-law No. 92/2013 31

(Grammostola rosea), Mexican Red-Knee (Brachypelma smithi) and Pink-Toed (Avicularia); and

(b) all venomous arthropods, including, but not limited to, centipede.

13 All large rodents (Rodentia), including, but not limited to, gopher, muskrat, paca, groundhog, marmot, beaver, prairie dog, viscacha, and porcupine.

14 All even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla) other than domestic sheep, including, but not limited to, antelope, giraffe and hippopotamus.

15 All odd-toed ungulates (Perissodactyla) other than domesticated horses (Equus caballus), including, but not limited to, zebra, rhinoceros and tapir.

16 All marsupials, including, but not limited to, Tasmanian devil, bandicoot, kangaroo, wallaby, opossum, wombat, koala bear, cuscus, numbat and pigmy, and greater glider, except the sugar glider.

17 Sea mammals (Cetacea, Pinnipedia and Sirenia), including, but not limited to, dolphin, whale, seal, sea lion and walrus.

18 All elephants (Proboscides).

19 All hyrax (Hyracoidea).

20 All pangolin (Pholidota).

21 All sloth, anteater, and armadillo (Xenarthrata).

22 Insectivorous mammals, including, but not limited to, aardvark, tenrec, shrew species, mole species and hedgehog species, except the African pygmy hedgehog.

23 Gliding lemur (Dermoptera).

24 All other venomous or poisonous animals.

25 All protected or endangered animals, whether native or non-native, whose possession or sale is prohibited in Manitoba because they are designated as protected or endangered pursuant to an international, federal, or provincial law, regulation, rule or agreement. This prohibition does not apply to an animal that has been obtained in accordance with international, federal or provincial law, as applicable, unless it is otherwise identified on this List.