Urban Planning, Ecological Transition, Urban Services and Housing

The Commission for Presidency, Citizen Rights, Participation, Safety and Prevention has initially approved the amendment to the by-law on the protection, ownership and sale of animals, to do away with the obligation to have a responsible pet owner’s licence. Steps will now be taken to roll out a set of measures on being with dogs in the city, the goal being to strengthen responsible ownership.

The update to the by-law will help promote the decree establishing reserved spaces for pets and where and when animals can be let off their lead. These reserved spaces correspond to dog areas, dog recreation zones and shared spaces, with one in each neighbourhood for the proper recreational and social development of animals. Dogs will also have to be kept on leads in public, except for those spaces which specifically indicate otherwise.

The decree on spaces for dogs will come once final approval is given to the amendment to the by-law, which is likely to be in the autumn. Work is currently being done on the technical aspects with the district offices to have one shared-use area per neighbourhood (73 in all). However, this will not be implemented until well into 2023.