By: Giselle General

I was in Grade 2 when I first learn the iconic song Masdan mo ang Kapaligiran, every lyric profoundly sharing how human activity, socially, politically and economically, impacts the natural environment, many of times for the worse.

As a city that prides itself on having so much natural space, where so frequently, a seemingly simple path entrance off a sidewalk leads you to vast nature trails where it looks like you have a Camp John Hay park or a La Mesa Watershed in just a few steps, one cannot help be think about the creatures that live in these places.

Animals are a part of our lives in other ways too, from many people having pets of various kinds, to finding ways to integrate farming in our urban residential spaces, to ensuring our vehicles, buildings and backyards are less likely to harm these animals while ensuring we are safe.

For those who wanted to be more engaged with the city, there are a few things we need to make part of our everyday lives and resources we need to remember and share with others.

Over the years, I’ve learned how to be thoughtful about interacting with animals that migrate in and out of our city. While admittedly they are scary enough that all Canadians learn to give them space that a reminder doesn’t seem necessary, when the Canada geese that flock over in the spring in our city, giving them distance when they’re walking around, nesting and caring for their young in parks and ponds is a great habit I’ve seen people do regularly. As long as we adapt the same approach to other animals we see around, whether it is garden snakes in the river valley rails or beavers in the water we can do our part so let them live their best lives.

The city, in partnership with the University of Alberta has a wildlife monitoring project called WildEdmonton to track animals of all sized using remote cameras. Human disturbances result in damage and shrinking spaces for wildlife to live, so monitoring these can help identify trends and mitigate losses. Protecting biodiversity is a great taxpayer money spending category if you ask me.

The city has an Animal Control department and it is important to remember that through the Animal Care and Control Bylaw, there are fines for violations such as Excessive barking, owning an unlicensed pet, not cleaning up their poop, that cost hundreds of dollars. A dog attack causing injury can result in a fine ranging from $250 – $7,000 which is worth knowing, but bylaws are only as good as the reports being filed. Maybe the processing time would not be as fast as a conventional 911 call, but I encourage people to speak up, report and be a witness when these incidences happen to hold our fellow residents accountable. I remember when I was in the peak of campaigning for city council, I’ve visited my godmother a few times and she is very passionate about animal control especially after my cousin was attacked by a dog when he was little. There are also incidents in the city of a child being killed by a dog, so this is truly serious.

There are plenty of resources for responsible pet ownership, including the processes and reasoning behind pet licenses and microchips, spay and neutering, lost pets reporting, protecting them from wildlife and ensuring that they stay safe. Maybe it’s the ESL in me, but I still end up adding an extra letter R in the word spay.

A seemingly simple but important advice I’ve heard heavily promoted in recent months is to not throw your aquarium fish in the sink, toilet or the city’s sewage system. Goldfish, for instance considered invasive species and almost like a parasite, they reproduce so fast and can damage neighbourhood the neighbourhood ponds and lakes. I know of one neighbourhood pond in the west end that had a goldfish infestation several times and the city had to spend thousands of dollars to exterminate the fishes. There’s this one article I saw with a photo of a goldfish retrieved from these ponds and it grew to a size of a dining plate! No wonder other creatures in that natural area can’t survive.

And finally, for us everyday people there’s opportunities to participate in the law-making process whether it’s the bylaws or penalties. Engagement surveys become available on the topic every now and then, it’s always worthwhile to speak to your city councillor or the mayor, and use the 311 reporting process for any concerns about animals and wildlife in the city. We can always do our part to ensure that furry, winged and scaled creatures in our city always have a good life here too.