The Northern Village of La Loche appears to be gearing up for a major cull of stray dogs.
On Saturday, it’s offering residents $10 per animal to catch and surrender local strays on Saturday.
A poster circulated by the village, located about 600 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon, says the dog surrender day is part of a larger plan for animal control, including a licencing bylaw for pet dogs that takes effect on Monday.
“In the meantime, we have to deal with the large amount of uncared for dogs in the community. These dogs are unfed, unhealthy and have no shelter during cold weather days,” the village said in its poster.
“They can be vicious and pose an immediate threat to the safety of our community. For this reason, council has decided to hold a Dog Surrender Day as a way to quickly reduce the amount of strays on the streets.”
CTV News contacted La Loche mayor Lyle Herman to learn more about the issue of stray dogs in the community and is awaiting a response.
The poster stipulates the village will not pay for puppies. To collect the $10 bounty, people are supposed to bring the animals to the local shelter between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday.
“Dogs that are stray, sick or female are the main priorities,” the poster says. “Capturing dogs is at your own risk. Please do so as safely as possible.”
The village is strongly encouraging all those with pet dogs to keep them indoors on Saturday.
Left unchecked, dog populations can quickly grow out of control. Dogs can potentially have two litters per year, with some dogs producing as many as 12 puppies in a litter, and those puppies reach maturity in about a year.
In advance of a planned cull in La Loche last year, several animal welfare groups stepped in to remove 100 stray dogs from the village.
Many were housed at a facility in Martensville, where they received veterinary care as volunteers worked to find them homes.
But dog rescues have their limitations, says Rachel Fiddler, a member of Waterhen Lake First Nation who volunteers with the organization Save Rez Dogs.
“There’s no capacity,” said Fiddler, who believes the solutions to the widespread stray dog issue in many First Nation and northern communities need to come from within.
“We need to build capacity … a long term plan to bring forward animal management in our communities that is reflective of Indigenous values.”
Fiddler spoke to CTV News about her own experience initiating conversations about animal management and welfare in her home reserve of Waterhen Lake, specifying she had no direct knowledge of the situation in La Loche.
She says animal control in Indigenous communities is a “complex” issue that’s made even more challenging in the boreal forest, where many are still in survival mode following multiple destructive wildfire seasons.
But the work of is underway, says Fiddler.
On Tuesday, the eastern Saskatchewan-based Cote First Nation announced a partnership with the nearby Kamsack veterinary clinic to offer free dog and cat spay and neutering services. It’s the kind of community-led policy that Fiddler says can help manage the issue in a more sustainable way.
“Some really important conversations are happening,” she said.
