From the Editor: A Great Man Has Passed Passage Baker Lake MLA Speaks Out in Support of Nunavut's Inuit Dogs Proposed New Dog By-law, a Threat to Iqaluit Dog Team Owners? Published Research Has Implications for the Aboriginal Inuit Sled Dog! Fan Mail The Chinook Project’s July 2013 Visit to Labrador NFB Increases Internet Accessibility to its Film Library Movie Review: Vanishing Point Problems Accessing/Viewing Pages IMHO: The Back Story of the Thank You DVD Index: Volume 15, The Fan Hitch Navigating This Site Index of articles by subject Index of back issues by volume number Search The Fan Hitch Articles to download and print Ordering Ken MacRury's Thesis Our comprehensive list of resources Defining the Inuit Dog Talk to The Fan Hitch The Fan Hitch home page
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Roaming pet dogs, owned or not, pose a problem in many northern communities. Photo: M. Hamel Proposed new dog by-law, a threat to Iqaluit dog team owners? Word from Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada is that in July 2013 the Town Council proposed a new dog by-law that has responsible team owners in Nunavut’s capital upset. They claim they have not been given much advanced notification nor the time line for the review process or their input, only having received a copy of the 38 page “Responsible pet owners and sled dog by-laws” after hearing rumors about its existence. The Town Council is recommending this legislation to replace the current stand-alone dog team by-law which team owners say was the result of years of effort on the part of owners and Elders, many of whom have passed on, who had worked together with city officials to create legislation that could find a balance between issues of public safety and traditional dog keeping practices, understanding the importance of encouraging the responsible ownership of endangered working Inuit Dogs. Apparently the lumping together of rules pertaining to both pets and working dogs has created ambiguity and confusion as the responsible keeping of each is separated not only by differences in cultures, but also by the differences in what are appropriate and sound procedures for each. It is also feared that the new by-law will in many ways discourage the keeping of traditional dogs teams. As of when the September issue of The Fan Hitch had gone “live”, there has been no response to a request for comment from either side. Nor has progress been made regarding last year’s dog team owners’ request to the Iqaluit Town Council for a security fence. |