The Regina Humane Society is advocating for council to adopt changes to the city’s animal bylaw to allow for promotion of responsible pet ownership. (Nicole Garn/980 CJME)

Humane society head confident Regina can promote responsible pet ownership

By Geoff Smith Mar 25, 2026 | 8:45 AM

Regina’s administration will consult on possible changes to the city’s animal bylaw to allow for the promotion of responsible pet ownership if city council approves a recommendation at Wednesday’s meeting.

That recommendation was forwarded by the city’s executive committee, after hearing concerns that the scope of proposed changes didn’t go far enough. The administration report suggested the bylaw would be at risk of infringing on provincial jurisdiction.

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Lisa Koch, executive director of the Regina Humane Society, told the committee that responsible pet ownership provisions would be seen as complementary, not conflicting.

Koch joined The Evan Bray Show on Tuesday to elaborate.

Listen to the full interview with Koch:

“Adding those provisions, or elements of provisions related to tethering and basic care, it allows us to intervene earlier and avoid some issues that may occur, should they escalate or deteriorate, from an animal welfare perspective,” she said, noting that animal welfare issues can often become public safety concerns.

“It’s more tools in the toolbox to be able to address those situations, and certainly it’s not duplicative of the provincial legislation,” Koch said.

Koch said there appears to have been an increase in what she called incidental dog bites in the community, though cases reported to the humane society are on the decline.

“I think it’s prudent to ensure that we’re doing everything that we can under the bylaw to ensure public safety, and we know, as a humane society, that the best way to do that is prevention,” she said.

The first phase of consultation led to recommendations for several changes to the bylaw, including changing the requirement that an animal be under verbal or physical control while in public. That change would require physical control – in other words, a leash.

Another change would speed up the process for dealing with a dangerous dog by allowing the city to apply for an interim order rather than having to wait for a hearing to be scheduled.

If council approves the list of changes on Wednesday, the actual bylaw changes would still have to be drafted and voted on.

The report also carries a recommendation from the executive committee that the next phase of consultation include a focus on responsible pet ownership.

Central library renewal funding

Council will also get more information from city administration about the options for funding construction of the central library renewal project.

At the March 11 meeting, council members were told the city does not have enough debt room to fund both the library renewal and necessary infrastructure upgrades.

The latest report said the city could technically reconsider some previously approved wastewater projects, for which the debt has not yet been issued.

The library could also request a larger tax increase than the one already approved. It could also increase the debt limit, but the administration warned that there are other looming needs that are not currently funded.

The report also noted that the Regina Public Library is barred by provincial legislation from charging fees for borrowing books.