The City of Burnaby is reviewing its animal control bylaws after the discovery and subsequent capture of a snakehead fish at a pond in Central Park
Mayor Derek Corrigan is calling for provincial or national animal-control legislation.
Under the current system, municipalities are free to set their own rules, creating a sort of patchwork system.
“There’s a broad area where they’re asking local government to exercise their jurisdiction, when in many ways, these are areas that should be considered for a universal policy — at least province-wide and probably nationally in how we deal with these issues.”
However, Corrigan says he won’t react hastily to calls to ban the sale of other invasive species.
He says he’s not surprised some animal-rescue organizations want to ban the sale of foreign turtles, and suggests the answer may lie in individual accountability.
“It does eventually come down to the level of responsibility people exercise in getting pets for their children or for themselves and what they do when those pets are no longer wanted.”
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