Man with large snake prompts Mattawa to reconsider outdated animal bylaw

A man with a large snake has prompted Mattawa town councilto reconsider its animal bylaws.

"There's an individual that comes into town with a rather large snake," explained town CAO Raymond Belanger."Every time he's in town... the phone starts ringing."

"We get inundated with phone calls that people are fearful, concerned, and scared, and they've asked the town to take a stance on it," he said.

The problem is the municipalitydoesn't have any rules preventing someone from walking around town with a boa constrictor.

Belangertold CBC Newsmany ofMattawa'sanimal control bylaws are decades, even centuries old.Current regulations are so outdated, they deal with where horses are permitted in town.

"The municipality is trying to developone bylaw to fit everything...and give our enforcement officer the teeth that he needs to enforce it," he said.

Local woman starts petition to keep backyard chickens and rabbits

MattawaresidentChanelleDavidson recently petitioned Mattawa town council to take a closer look before passing the new animal bylaw.

Davidson raises chickens and meat rabbits in her backyard and was worried her small collection of livestock would become illegal.

Up North7:20Mattawa woman wants to keep chickens in her backyard

Municipalities across the north are struggling with how to regulate backyard livestock. We spoke to Chanelle Davidson, a Mattawa woman fighting to raise chickens and rabbits in her backyard.

Council was surprised to learnthere were multiple families raising chickens in their backyards, Davidson said.

"I've never had any neighbour complain," Davidson said. "In fact, before all this came up I would say 95 per cent of the town didn't even know I had animals in my backyard," she said.

"Nowadays when you shop in the grocery store, you don't know what you're getting. It's important to me to know my eggs are hormone free and my meat is 100 per cent natural."

Municipalities across Canada struggling with animal bylaws

Municipalities across Canadahave struggled to update outdated animal controlbylaws, as urban farming and backyard chicken coopsbecome increasinglypopular.

In northern Ontario, both Sudbury and Thunder Bay have been looking to change theiranimal bylaws.Earlier this monthThunder Bay council vetoed an urban chicken bylaw.