Oak Bay is making moves to curb a rising number of dog attacks in the community.
On June 23, council discussed possible changes to the district’s animal control and municipal ticket information bylaws that would help stop surly hounds housed on private property from attacking locals.
“This is in itself not a complicated amendment, but it does cover an important gap in our animal control bylaw,” said Andre Boel, Oak Bay’s director of community building and planning.
The amendments would require residents with vicious dogs – defined as those that have bitten or attacked a person or an animal without provocation, or that have approached people in public places in a menacing manner – to keep their canines locked inside a building or pen while on private property to limit their access to the public.
The changes would also prescribe fines for residents in breach of the new rules.
In a June 23 report, district staff outlined an example of the dangers aggressive canines can pose.
“There is currently a vicious dog owner in Oak Bay who allows their vicious dog to be in the front yard with no fence, no leash and no muzzle, accessible to the public and near an elementary school,” reads the nine-page document. “The district has no recourse to require the dog to be secured from the public. Any child could wander up to the vicious dog unwittingly. This creates a potential hazard to the public.”
Council's conversation on Monday follows an uptick in dog attacks in Oak Bay.
According to the same June 23 report, the district's animal control service provider investigated 74 dog attacks between 2020 and 2024. The agency looked into an average of 11 of these incidents per year between 2020 and 2022. Attacks, however, spiked in 2023 and 2024, with the yearly average nearly doubling to 20.5.
Coun. Esther Paterson asked if the amendments include language about whether dogs can shed their “vicious” designation if their owners take steps to curb the pup's behaviour.
“I know from the practical workings of bylaws like this that if dogs got retrained, for example, there is an avenue back," said Boel, who added that only animal control officers can designate a dog as vicious. "There are usually serious problems, so it’s not always solvable.”
Council gave first three readings to the bylaw changes, which will come back for final adoption at the next council meeting.
Victoria, Saanich, Esquimalt, View Royal, Colwood, Central Saanich, Sidney, North Saanich and Sooke have put in place similar regulations.
