The days of the friendly neighourhood feline roaming around freely in residential areas may soon be coming to an end.
That’s because at Wednesday’s community development meeting, councillors voted in favour of a bylaw that would prohibit cat owners from letting their pets wander freely outdoors off their own property.
The motion was put forward by Ward 17 Don Valley North Coun. Shelley Carroll, who argues it’s safer for cats to be kept indoors, or be kept on a leash if outdoors.
Scott Tinney, an animal justice lawyer, is one of many advocates backing the proposal.
“Working in the animal law sphere, I hear of terrible things happening to animals,” he says.
“We just believe it’s in the best interest of cats to keep them indoors. They live longer indoors, they’re safer from predation from coyotes, they’re safer from possibly being hit by cars”
Nathalie Karvonen, a wildlife biologist and the executive director of the Toronto Wildlife Centre agrees, but for a number of other reasons.
“Cats have a devastating impact on wildlife populations,” she told Global News.
“There was an Environment Canada Study that was done where they looked at song bird mortality across the whole country, and the study concluded that the number one reason for the death of song birds in Canada was free-roaming cats.”
But Toronto cat owner Linda Harnarine has been letting her two furry friends roam free for decades, and disagrees with the proposed bylaw.
“My love cats to go outside. I’m happy they can go outside because they suffer from stress, and it’s important for them to run around and get the fresh air and the exercise,” she said.
“It’s like putting a leash on a baby. I couldn’t do that.”
City staff have also raised concerns about how the bylaw would be enforced.
“I shouldn’t be catty about this, and I gather (the proposal) did just pass by a whisker,” said Mayor John Tory.
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“I won’t support this at council. I’m just not a believer in us passing laws that we find impossible to enforce.”
There are also worries the bylaw could potentially pose a strain on animal shelters across the city.
“I think it would put a strain on any animal welfare agency or organization,” said Phil Nichols, the chief operating officer of the Toronto Humane Society.
“The other thing to keep in mind with enforcement is making sure you’re not penalizing people that are already strapped and dealing with financial struggles and other barriers, because mistakes do happen.”
About 90 municipalities across the country and a handful in the Greater Toronto Area have enacted similar bylaws, including Newmarket, Markham and Hamilton.
Toronto’s outdoor cat ban proposal is expected to go before council later this month.
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