WHEREAS The Stray Animals Regulations, sets the fees and compensation in Section 4; and

WHEREAS the human resources required to provide the services of restraining and impounding strays is a specialized skill set and hard to recruit for many rural municipalities; and

WHEREAS the transportation of strays and travel dealing with strays is in increasingly expensive; and

WHEREAS skilled workers are compensated in a more advantageous way by the private sector;

BE IT RESOLVED that SARM lobby the Provincial Government to increase the fees paid for impounding strays, aiding in restraining or impounding strays, provision of care and sustenance for restrained or impounded strays, transportation related to dealing with strays and other costs of administering The Stray Animals Act and The Stray Animals Regulations, to ensure rural municipalities will be able to recruit and, in turn, retain their poundkeepers in light of the market for this specialized skill set.

Response from Honourable Lyle Stewart, Minister of Agriculture:

The Stray Animals Regulations sets fees for restraining, impounding, caring and transporting strays. The last time these fees were increased was in 1999. The Ministry would be prepared to make changes to these fees if stakeholder consultations support such increases.