Toronto Is Rolling Out Some New Rules For Pet Owners & Here's What You Need To Know

Heads up, Toronto! If you own pets, there are some key rules that just changed in the city, which you may want to keep an eye out for.

You'll definitely want to watch your wandering pets because there are some new fines and you'll need to hold back on how many little critters you add to your family.

Mandatory microchipping of cats

For starters, you won't need to leash your cat outside, at least for now, as the city claws back some plans it had for keeping outdoor furry critters tethered. During a council meeting on Wednesday, they dropped the leash option, saying that urban cats "can walk around outside for now."

Toronto Councillor Shelley Carroll, representing Don Valley North, amended the item on animals, saying, "at the heart of this... is about working first on microchipping and licensing."

"Every GTA municipality around us has an anti-roaming bylaw, but they have it because they've been more successful than us. Only 4% of our cats are licensed.

"That's what makes it possible really to have an anti-roaming bylaw because you can pick them up and get them back to their owners with a warning and not end up with shelters full of cats that we then have a problem with."

The city representative suggested working with an expert on the practicality and likelihood of mandatory microchipping before deciding on the issue and the council agreed.

The city notes that it will look into "providing an affordable microchipping service, and a public awareness campaign promoting the City’s and other charities' microchipping services and spay/neuter services."

Cleaning up after dogs

Better bring out the pooper scooper, folks! Toronto also decided that "an owner of a dog shall remove excrement left by the dog on the property of the owner within 24 hours."

In other areas of the city, dog owners must clean up the mess immediately.

No more feeding wildlife at home

You won't be able to feed wildlife at home, anymore. This latest rule states that "no person shall feed or attempt to feed wildlife, or permit the feeding of wildlife on their property." That's in addition to public spaces.

Don't worry, though, you can still keep your bird feeders up! And you can still fish with bait if you have a licence to do so.

You can only own so many guinea pigs, rabbits, and pigeons

The city also capped how many guinea pigs and rabbits you can own. As of December 1, you won't be able to have more than four per household, unless you are part of a rescue group.

But, if you had 10 or more rabbits or guinea pigs before December of last year, you can still keep them.

If you're thinking about owning pigeons, under the new rules, you'll only be allowed to have 30 pigeons from November 1 to March 31. However, during breeding season, from April 1 to October 31, you can keep up to 50.

Keeping pets outdoors

If you own any pets and want to have them outdoors for more than 30 minutes, you should also prepare to have a shelter.

The city mandates that the enclosure is "in accordance with that section complies with any applicable standards under the Provincial Animal Welfare Standards Act."

Still, Toronto also has a rule that "no owner of an animal other than a pigeon shall cause or permit the animal to be at large in the city."

Impound fees

If the city nabs your pet, you'll have to pay a domestic animal impound fee of $30 for 24 hours. And it's $10 for every additional day. If you surrender your animal, and they weigh below 99 pounds, sheltering will cost you $35. But if you surrender an animal weighing over 99 pounds, it'll cost you $59.

Protective care for the first 24 hours will cost $40, and $10 for every additional day.

On the other hand, if you own a prohibited animal, seized pets that are impounded will cost $140 per animal, plus administrative costs set by the city.

So, you better watch where you let Max and Luna roam, Torontonians!