Mississauga Makes Changes to Pet Licensing Fees

If you're a pet owner in the city, we have good news for you.

At a recent General Committee meeting, Mississauga Animal Services proposed changes to pet licensing that will allow residents to buy a new two-year pet license at a reduced rate and provide discounted rates to lower-income residents.

The city also that, In addition to revising the pet licensing fee structure, there will also be some changes to the cost of surrendering an animal to Animal Services.

The revisions are part of significant recommendations that will amend the Animal Care and Control By-law.

"Changes to pet licensing pricing will further support the compliance rate for pet licensing in Mississauga which has increased to 23.8 per cent in 2016 from 9.8 per cent in 2011," said Geoff Wright, Commissioner of Transportation and Works. "These new fees benefit the community and better align pet licensing fees to other municipalities."

The city says the recommendations are based on comparisons to other big cities across Canada, as well as an online survey that asked residents and community stakeholders about pet licensing.

The recommendations include:

• Enable residents to purchase or renew a regular two-year pet licence and receive a $10 discount
• Discounted pet licence for low-income residents
• Free pet licence for:
• service animals certified for the blind, hearing impaired or other handicaps
• therapy animals supported with medical documents
• Reduction of fees for the surrendering of animals to the shelter for residents who may be experiencing financial hardship or meet the low-income measure