More 2010 Regional Summit Highlights

"Intelligent, forward thinking... such a welcome change and a breath of fresh air!" was how one delegate described the presentation given by Bill Bruce, Manager of The City of Calgary Animal and Bylaw Services, at the 2010 Regional Summits for Urban Animal Strategies. The events were held in four cities across Canada the week of 19 April.

More than 85% of delegates who completed the post-Summit survey said that Bruce was: 

• an effective and engaging speaker
• an expert on the subject matter
• delivered relevant and useful content, and
• conveyed information in ways they could relate to.

Bruce's lecture focused on the success of The City of Calgary's cat licensing program and provided attendees with insight on how they can effectively duplicate the program in their own communities.
"We did our research before implementing cat licensing," explained Bruce. "We recognized that we had an average of 9,000 cats a year entering the shelter system in Calgary. Of these, only about 17% had traceable identification. As a result, the return to owner and euthanasia rates were dismal. The problem, we recognized, was not necessarily one of pet overpopulation but a need for people to become more responsible pet owners. Once we understood the problem we developed a program to get the public to understand it."

Since introducing voluntary cat licensing in June 2006, and mandatory licensing in January 2007, The City of Calgary has exceeded its initial estimate of having about 20,000 licensed cats. More than 50% of cats in Calgary are now believed to be licensed. Licensing has resulted in returned to owner rates increasing to about 60% and euthanasia rates changing from 36% to 18%.

Want to learn more about how you can connect with other thought leaders in the companion animal industry? Check out the International Summit for Urban Animal Strategies to be held at Lake Louise, Alberta, 13 - 16 October 2010.

Posted by Terri Perrin, Online Communications Editor

2009 Summit ReCap: Cats Our Biggest Opportunity

Highlights from the Panel Discussion at the 2009 Summit

The panel discussion on the last day of the National Alumni Summit For Urban Animal Strategies always provides opportunity for lively discussion and information sharing. In effort to remind alumni of the importance of this dialogue -- and to keep these topics top of mind -- here are a few powerful quotes excerpted from the session:

On the issue of cat licensing:

"It is an urban myth that cats can't wear collars and tags. This often comes up in community discussions about municipal cat licensing. It shouldn't be a factor [in whether or not a licensing program should be mandated]. In Calgary, [for example], if a cat is tattooed or micro-chipped they don't have wear the cat license... but they do have to be licensed.
"

Bill Bruce ~ City of Calgary

On the issue of restricting the number of cats/dogs per household:

“The reason we don’t do this [in Calgary] is that if you are a responsible pet owner [how many pets you have] is none of the government’s business. Some municipalities do this because they think it will alleviate hoarding. This does not work.”
Bill Bruce ~ City of Calgary Animal and Bylaw Services


“We also grappled with this. Our response was that to impose a limit [on the number of owned animals] shows that we don’t believe that our responsible pet ownership programs work. Instead, we emphasize that if someone is responsible, they could have 15 pets and no one would know it! What has to be factored into this equation is that hoarding is a psychological issue, not a compliance issue.”

James Wilke ~ City of Saskatoon Animal Services

For more information on Cats: Our Biggest Opportunity, NASUAS alumni are encouraged to log onto the 'Members only' section of tsuas.com.

Summit Presentation Synopsis #4

Licensing Cats in Calgary

Presenter: Bill Bruce, City of Calgary Animal & Bylaw Service Manager

Trying to legislate cat licensing in your community? Here's hope... and help!

After years of effort, on January 1, 2007, The City of Calgary began licensing cats. The program has been a resounding success.

"To date, over 48,000 responsible cat owners have licensed their cat(s)," explains Bill Bruce. "Within the first two years of the program, return to owners statistics for cats at the City’s shelter has increased to 56% and there has been a reduction of cat euthanasias to 18%."

Bruce's presentation will look at the process of implementing cat licensing with a high degree of public acceptance, working with partnerships on managing cats in the community and future steps to increase the level of responsible pet ownership with cat owners and reduce the number of unwanted cats in shelters across the City.