Animal Control

Coastal Animal Control Services of BC is contracted to the City to administer and enforce regulations of the Animal Care and Control Bylaw.

Inquiries, concerns and complaints regarding animals should be directed to Coastal Animal Control Services. Common issues include:

• Attacking or aggressive dogs
• Barking dogs
• Neglected or stray dogs
• Injured dogs
• Unlicensed dogs
• Dogs tied up outside for more than 2 hour within a 24 hour period
• Dogs off-leash outside of an off-leash area
• Dogs kept outside without appropriate shelter to protect the dog from heat, cold and wet

For more information about Animal Control, check out the Animal Care & Control Bylaw as at September 2019.

Contact Information

Coastal Animal Control Services is located at 2202 Herd Road
Phone: (T:250-748-3395)
Email: cacs@telus.net
Website: www.coastalanimalservices.com

Concerned about a dog in a hot car?

If you see a dog confined in an enclosure, including a motor vehicle, without adequate ventilation to prevent the dog from suffering distress, contact nearby businesses first to alert their customers, or, in a park or non-commercial area, call out to see if the owner is nearby.  In a residential area, door-knocking is recommended.  If the owner cannot readily be found, please call Coastal Animal Control at (T: 250-748-3395) first, then, try the RCMP non-emergency line (T: 250-748-5522), or the Animal Cruelty Hotline (T: 1-855-622-7722).  Record any information about the state the animal is in, and whether or not the windows are down or there is a water source, to report to the SPCA.

Note: A dog in distress is defined as excessively panting or drooling; the dog’s tongue has turned a dark purple or grey which indicates the dog’s internal temperature has risen to a dangerous degree; the dog is behaving frantically – pawing at the window, or trying to stick its nose out; loss of bowels; lethargic and unresponsive behavior.

Dog Licensing

It is mandatory for every dog, over 4 months old, to be licensed yearly, and to wear the tag on their collar. The licences are valid for the calendar year from January to December. Dog licence fees offset the costs of animal control and provide an accurate form of identification. Licences can be purchased at City Hall, 200 Craig Street (T: 250-746-6126), Coastal Animal Control Services of BC Ltd., 2202 Herd Road (T: 250-748-3395), or online.

Licensing Fees

Description	Paid by January 31st, 2024	Paid After January 31st, 2024
Neutered or spayed dog (owner to sign declaration)	$32.50	$42.50
Unaltered adult dog	$55.00	$70.00
Dog deemed aggressive or dangerous	$210.00	$350.00
Dog deemed aggressive where owner has provided proof of successful completion of Canadian Kennel Club’s Canine Good Neighbour Program	$85.00	$90.00
Replacement licence (tag), or a dog that attains the age of 4 months during a calendar year, or a dog that has been duly licensed in another municipality	$6.00	$6.00

* Dog licensing fees do not apply to Guide Animals, with a valid certification under the Guide Animal Act, or Police Service Dogs.

Off-Leash Area

The City provides an area where dog owners may exercise their dogs off-leash.  The off-leash dog park is located at Rotary Park.

Cats

No person may keep, or allow to be kept on any Property, more than 6 Companion Animals, including not more than 3 Dogs over the age of 8 weeks and not more than 5 Cats over the age of 12 weeks, excluding Guide Animals.

Owners must affix, and keep affixed, sufficient identification on the cat by a collar, harness, traceable tattoo, or other suitable device so that a person finding the cat at-large can identify and contact the owner and every owner of an outdoor cat must have the cat spayed or neutered.

Anyone wishing to feed ownerless cats may do so subject to the following:

• Register with a City recognized organization with the TNR (trap, neuter and release) program
• Provide evidence, in writing, of a plan for the care, feeding and mandatory spaying/neutering, tattooing, and vaccination of each ownerless cat to the TNR organization, with copies to Coastal  Animal Control and the SPCA for their records;
• Feeding stations can only be placed on private property for up to 45 minutes maximum, once per day, to prevent attracting rodents and unwanted animals to the feeding stations;
• Outdoor shelter must be provided for any ownerless cat; and
• The total number of cats, whether kept as a companion animal, or ownerless cats without identification, cannot exceed five (5) cats per lot.

For more information about ownerless cats, please visit Cowichan Cat Rescue.

Hens

A person may keep up to 6 hens on a property.  A licence is not required.  Hens must be lawful accessory for the use of the property in accordance with the City’s Zoning Bylaw and the person keeping the Hens.  More requirements for keeping hens can be found in the Animal Care and Control Bylaw (Section 6.9) and Zoning Bylaw (Section 3.18).

Other Animals

To report sightings of bears, cougar, or wounded wildlife, call the Provincial Conservation Officer at 1-877-952-7277

Should you have problems with rats, mice, raccoons, etc., call a pest control company.  Additional information on rat control and prevention can be found in the City of Duncan Rat Brochure.