Exotic Animals - Independence, Authority and Delegation

The regulation and oversight of exotic animals should remain subject to clear, independent and accountable administrative processes. An entity contracted by the City should not be placed in a position where it effectively assumes or expands regulatory powers on behalf of the City without a clearly defined mandate, lawful delegation and appropriate oversight.

The By-law defines a “contracted entity” as an animal welfare organisation contracted by the City to perform inspection, permitting and administrative functions. However, this should not be interpreted as giving such an entity unrestricted authority to create, impose or enforce requirements beyond those expressly authorised by the By-law or properly delegated by the City.

In particular, where exotic animals are concerned, decisions affecting permits, ownership, keeping, movement or compliance should be based on the applicable legislation, objective scientific and welfare considerations, and transparent administrative processes. The contracted entity should not effectively determine policy or impose additional requirements on behalf of the City where those requirements have not been established through the appropriate legal and administrative process.

It is therefore recommended that the By-law clearly distinguish between the City's regulatory authority and the functions that may be performed by a contracted entity, including the limits of any delegation, the accountability of the contracted entity to the City, and the rights of affected applicants and permit holders to receive reasons for decisions and to challenge or appeal decisions.

This is particularly important for exotic animal keepers, where the regulatory framework may involve multiple competent authorities and existing permits or authorisations. The system should ensure that one contracted entity cannot effectively assume a regulatory role that belongs to the competent authority or impose requirements independently of the legal framework.