Young Writers Society

Uncontrolled animals are not allowed on highways in the Yukon. Allow your pet within 30 metres of the centre of the highway, out of your control, and the fine is $100. Do it three times within three years, and the fine is $500, and the government can take away your pet. This is serious pet and driver protection.

A British Columbia bylaw includes pit bull terriers in the definition of a vicious dog, no matter what the temper of the individual dog. One pid bull owner challenges the bylaw, saying it was an unlawful libel - giving his dog a "bad name." The court decided that the bylaw was "uncharitable," but that dogs weren't hurt by bad names.

(I can't remember if I did this one already or not.)

In 1902 the Yukon prohibited the driving of dogs through the streets of any town or village faster than 6 miles an hour (almost 10 kilometres an hour). Possible fines were up to $50 plus costs.
In Inuvik, Northwest Territories, dogs must be "properly secured" and may not be tied to trees or shrubs.

Vietnamese potbellied pig Violet was given seven days to get out of town in 1994. Violet's two owners, who kept her at their pet store in Burlington, Ontario, were fined $1400 each for keeping an exotic animal in the city.

The former City of Scarborough, Ontario, allowed residents to keep horses, ponies, donkeys or mules, but not if they had "ferocious habits." Then they were illegal. No horses could be kept in the house, either.

An old law in British Columbia reportedly made it illegal to kill a sasquatch.

You aren't allowed to keep a cow in your house in St. John's, Newfoundland. If you've got cows, and you want to get rid of them before the police catch you, better get up early. It's illegal to drive cattle through the streets of St. John's after 8 a.m.

Dog owners in Charlottetown, P.E.I., are guilty of an offense if their dogs disturb people by barking between 9:00 pm and 7:00 am.

Keeping two cows for more than two hours within 100 feet (about 30 metres) of an occupied building was prohibited in Calgary - unless you had written permission from the people in the building.

Don't let your parrot squawk or talk too loudly in Oak Bay, B.C. If it disturbs someone, you'll get blamed, to the tune of $100.

Pet tarantulas are not allowed in Toronto. Spider lovers there will have to choose a non-poisonous pet. In parts of Canada where tarantulas are legal as pets, watch out for the GST. Pet stores will supply cockroaches to feed your pet, but you have to pay about four cents tax on each one.

You can't own a pet bat in Toronto. Same thing goes for skunks - even friendly, unsmelly ones. No pet porcupines are allowed, either.
You may not own a snake which is poisonous, or one which (as an adult) will be longer than 3 metres, either. Lizards which will reach an adult length larger than 2 metres are forbidden, too.

It is against the law to bring more than two birds of the parrot family into Canada from the United States at the same time. Then, you or members of your family can't bring more of these birds into Canada until 90 days have passed, and have had no contact with other birds.

You can't keep more than two dogs over the age of four months in Oak Bay, B.C. If your pet dog has puppies, you have to write to the Licence Inspector to report the event within a month. It's a legal requirement.
Cat owners in Oak Bay have it a little easier. They are allowed to keep five cats per "parcel of land."

You're violating a btlaw if you own a snake greater than 2 feet (60 centimetres) in length in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

Find a resting place for your dead goldfish, or flush it, if you live in Kanta, Ontario. It is illegal to deposit the carcass of any dead animal, fish or fowl on a street here.

It is illegal to leave your horse in front of the Country Squire hotel in Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan, without hitching it securely to the hitching post. However, the hitching post was removed many years ago... Same thing in East Toronto parks. You can't hitch your horse to anything but a hitching post that doesn't exist anymore.

I know I haven't posted in a while, I don't like to do too much on the holidays.


In Coquitlam, B.C., cats over six months of age have to be spayed or neutered, unless a breeding permit is purchased. No unauthorized kittens are to be produced.
This is a big change. In the past, pro-cat laws inherited by Canada from Britain have given cats a lot more freedom than other pets such as dogs. In Britain, cats have been highly valued for centuries because of their skill in catching mice and rats.

Bird feeders have been forbidden, at times, in Brossard, Pierrefonds and Co^te St.-Luc, Quebec. (When I write Co^te the '^' is supposed to be over the 'o'.)