Days after it opened to the public in southwest London, Ont., an animal welfare group says it has filed complaints with municipal bylaw officials about the indoor reptile zoo Reptilia over its exhibition of exotic animals despite being denied a bylaw exemption to display such creatures.
“Leading up to when they opened, they were bringing in animals that are prohibited under the bylaw, and so we reported that each step of the way,” said Julie Woodyer, campaigns director for Zoocheck, on Friday.
“I know that other people have also been reporting those things to the city. I understand that the city has an investigation ongoing and that they intend to pursue the issue with Reptilia.”
For its part, a lawyer representing Reptilia, which opened to the public on Saturday at Westmount Commons, says the zoo will respond accordingly should municipal law enforcement act on the complaints.
Andrew Sercombe, a spokesperson for the city, confirmed in an email that the municipality had received a “number of complaints” related to Reptilia’s opening, but could not comment further about enforcement actions.
In February, city councillors rejected the zoo’s request for an exemption under London’s animal control bylaw for restrictions that prohibit the ownership and display of “Class 7 animals,” described as animals of a type “normally found in a wild and natural state, whether or not it has been bred and/or raised in captivity.”
Alligators, crocodiles, venomous lizards, snakes, and spiders, large cats, bears, wolves, monkeys, kangaroos and elephants are among those considered Class 7 animals.
In the lead-up to its opening this past weekend, the zoo’s social media accounts promoted the arrival of several species that would be considered Class 7 animals, including a Burmese python, alligators, crocodiles, and Gila monsters.
“I’m not surprised at all. In fact, it was our expectation that there would be complaints from certainly Zoocheck and also members of the public,” said Michael Lerner, a lawyer representing Reptilia, in an interview Friday.
“The city will do one of two things. Either that they will do nothing or … they will lay a charge under the current bylaw, and if that is to occur, we will take aggressive, appropriate action at that time.”
Reptilia has said previously that it is exempt from the bylaw as it operates under a provincial licence. The city bylaw says the civic rule does not apply to animals that are “maintained in a public park, zoo, fair, exhibition or circus operated or licensed by a municipal or other governmental authority.”
“Some people do not believe that we are regulated, but indeed we are regulated by the organization that replaced the old SPCA, now known as PAWS,” he said.
“They have the ability and the authority to issue substantial fines and take other appropriate disciplinary action if they find that we are not operating in compliance with their regulations.”
Lawyers for Westmount Commons’ management firm, McCor Management, also reviewed the municipal bylaw and provincial legislation and determined that the zoo was exempt, Lerner said.
“Obviously, the city’s view and the opinion that we got differ, and as I say, it’s not unusual for lawyers to have different opinions.”
Last year, Zoocheck officials argued in a letter to a city committee that there are currently no provincial or federal licences for the operation of zoos in the province, and no licences related to the keeping of non-native exotic animal species.
Zoos that operate in the province are required to obtain a provincial license if they plan to keep “specially protected and game wildlife,” however it does not apply to non-native exotic species, meaning the keeping of such animals is the responsibility of the municipality, the letter said.
“The city wrote the bylaw, their lawyers agree that there is no exemption except for the animals covered by that licence, which are your garter snakes and native wildlife,” Woodyer said.
“I think the city has a very strong case, and I think it would be ridiculous to interpret the bylaw any other way, because it would essentially open it up for anybody to come in with any number of exotic animals as long as they got a licence to keep a native species — a turtle, for instance.”
The group’s primary concerns were around animal welfare and public safety, she said.
Ahead of its vote in February, city politicians received a slew of submissions from the public voicing opposition to the requested bylaw exemption.
Council also rejected proposed business licensing bylaw amendments which included the creation of an “Exotic Animal Establishment” designation.
However, Lerner said that most of the public sentiment they had received had been positive, and noted that more than 800 people attended the location for its opening on Saturday.
“We were … pleasantly surprised as a result of the response from the community. It far exceeded our expectations,” he said.
Reptilia also operates facilities in Vaughan and Whitby, and first sought to expand into London in 2018 where it was rebuffed by the then-city council. Last year, news emerged that the city had granted a building permit for a facility at Westmount Commons.
In November, the zoo approached the newly-elected council requesting the animal control bylaw exemption, a request which was denied in February.
Woodyer said Reptilia opening with exotic animals gave the impression it was telling city hall, ” Too bad, we don’t like your decision, we’re going to do what we want anyway.”
“That’s not an appropriate way to operate a business, nor is it an appropriate precedent to set for the City of London that anybody can go ahead and violate the city’s bylaws and get away with it,” she said.
“And I suspect that’s why the city is being very careful about making sure that they’re enforcing this bylaw.”