With Pet and Wildlife Rescue (PAWR) ready to start their new animal control contract with Chatham-Kent, the municipality is making sure residents know exactly what to expect.
PAWR was awarded the five-year contract earlier in the month and will provide animal control services for all of Chatham-Kent beginning on March 31.
The charitable organization has been around since 2015. Prior to their new contract, the organization provided animal control services for Chatham, South Kent, North Kent, and Wallaceburg.
During the February 11 council meeting where the contract was ultimately approved, many councillors expressed concerns on behalf of the residents over the specifics of the agreement and concerns about the organization itself.
Nancy Havens, manager of licensing services with the municipality, provided some insight into the matter.
"PAWR will enforce the municipal bylaw and the Dog Owners' Liability Act which includes things such as enforcing the municipal by-law, dogs at large, dog bites, number of animals, keeping of prohibited animals, animal keeping standards, cat intake and selling of dog tags," she explained.
The Sarnia Humane Society will continue to have an inspector under the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act to provide animal cruelty coverage across Chatham-Kent.
PAWR currently operates the animal shelters in Chatham and Wallaceburg. According to the organization's Facebook page, at its Chatham location, PAWR takes in stray and surrendered cats and dogs as well as small animals. At the Wallaceburg location, PAWR takes in stray dogs as well as dogs people wish to surrender from the Wallaceburg area.
Although PAWR will conduct cat intake, their contract does not include cat pickup or wildlife pick up. Havens said cat pick up has never been included in an animal control contract with the municipality.
Included in the contract, however, is the pick up of wildlife if it's posing a threat to public safety and if permission for pick up is granted by the municipality. Havens said residents who wish to remove wildlife from their home have the option to do so at their own expense by calling pest control or a licensed animal trapper.
PAWR will wear two separate hats, one being the contract with the municipality and one being the charitable rescue side of their organization. The organization, which is made up of 14 staff and 80 volunteers, said any services provided by the rescue side of the organization depend on if PAWRS has the funds and volunteers available to do it.
Although the contract with the municipality doesn't include wildlife pick up, PAWR's website states the following: "While Pet and Wildlife Rescue does not provide housing nor treatment services for wildlife, we are proud to assist several local wildlife rehabilitation centres by providing transportation for injured/orphaned wild animals. This service is available thanks to our volunteer drivers and is not available 24/7."
If PAWR is unavailable to pick up injured wildlife, the organization recommends driving it to a local animal rehabilitation or calling the Ontario Ministry of Natural Ressources for more information on what action to take.
During the meeting, some councillors said residents also had concerns about mixing seized animals with healthy animals that are up for adoptions. Municipal clerk Judy Smith assured councillors that PAWR is operating up to provincial standards.
"We are currently building a brand new facility which we will be opening in April," said Smith. "We have recently had a tour. We've seen the locations where there are quarantined dogs, there are adoptable dogs, there are sick dogs. It's separate and it's been through the ministry to check the standards."
Havens added that she will be meeting with the organizers of PAWR on at least a monthly basis to address any concerns and to review the facilities.
Overall, Havens said she's optimistic about bringing PAWR on board. She described the organization as knowledgeable, timely and experienced. She also expects animal control services in the municipality to become a lot more streamlined.
"This is the first time we're going to have one provider for all of Chatham-Kent. We're kind of excited because for over 20 years we've had several different providers and now this is the first time we're going to have one. So we'll have consistent service, a standardized approach across all of Chatham-Kent," she said.
A representative of PAWR told Blackburn News that they encourage anyone with further questions to give them a call at 226-996-9969.
