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Animal Services and Control

The City of Lethbridge and our community partners offer a variety of animal services for pets, animals at large and area wildlife.

Animal services, animal control and issue response are guided by the City’s animal-related bylaws, including:

Dog Control Bylaw (includes licensing requirements and fees; leash requirements; defecation and clean-up; disturbances and aggression; confinement; bylaw enforcement and fines; dog possession limits; impounded dogs; unclaimed dogs; euthanization and more)
Wild and Domestic Animal Regulation Bylaw (includes regulations around the keeping of wildlife, livestock, poultry, bees and rabbits; captures; inspections and more)

Animal licences

Licensing your pet gives you a much better chance at reuniting if it becomes lost in the community. If a dog or cat is not wearing a licence, it makes it very difficult to locate the owner and it may go up for adoption to a new owner within 72 hours of being found and left unclaimed. In addition, all dogs over the age of six months must be licensed in the City of Lethbridge.

Learn how to license your pet and how to renew its licence every year.

Animals at large, stray pets and injured animals

Community Animal Services operates the City of Lethbridge Animal Shelter and provides care and control services with pride, integrity and compassion. Through partnerships with rescue groups and like-minded community organizations, they act as a hub for responsible pet ownership, community support programs and public services.

Visit Community Animal Services to learn more about:

Pet adoptions, processes and costs
Reporting a stray animal
Reporting barking dogs, aggressive dogs or a domestic animal bylaw issue
Reporting an injured or deceased animal
Viewing pets found from around the community
Responsible pet ownership and education
Common animal issues and support programs for pet owners

Contact Community Animal Services about these issues and more within the community.

Animal neglect or abuse

If you would like to report a case of animal neglect or abuse, please contact the Alberta Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). In the event of an emergency where an animal’s life is in danger, please call 9-1-1.

Animal Welfare Committee

The Animal Welfare Committee participates in projects to improve the welfare of animals in the city, including:

Overseeing the pilot project designed to determine best practices for the management of feral cat colonies and the application process
Overseeing the application process for the non-veterinary funding program for animal rescue groups
Approving the funding of the spay and neuter program of the No Kill Animal Association (NOKA)
Forwarding information and recommendations to City Council

Lethbridge wildlife and the Helen Schuler Nature Centre

Lethbridge is home to many interesting animals and wildlife that you may encounter while out in the community! You may see deer, porcupines, skunks, marmots and western painted turtles, as well as a variety of more than 300 types of seasonal and year-round birds, such as pelicans and brown thrashers.

Open year-round, the Helen Schuler Nature Centre is a unique urban escape that provides lots of chances to interact with local wildlife and natural spaces. The Nature Centre offers:

Community events
Exhibits
Facility rentals
Kids’ programs
Parks and trails
Programs for schools and groups
Resources for teachers
Volunteering opportunities

Avoiding conflicts and risks associated with wildlife

Learn how to live with wildlife and discover helpful information from the Government of Alberta on:

Bear safety information
Cougar and wolf encounters and risk minimization
Human-wildlife conflict and precautions in urban settings
Wildlife-caused damage and compensation

City Hall
910 4 Avenue South
Lethbridge, AB T1J 0P6

Phone: 311
or 403-320-3111 (if outside of Lethbridge)

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