Changes to Municipal Enforcement Services (MES)

As a result of a restructuring in 2022, the City of Thunder Bay Animal Services transitioned to a public safety and animal impoundment model. The department was amalgamated into the current Municipal Enforcement Services (MES).

MES officers, who handle both animals and by-law infractions, deal with situations like dangerous dogs, picking up stray dogs, investigating dog bites, and dealing with injured or dead animals on city property.

With this change to Animal Services, the City stopped accepting all animals as it did before. This shift happened around the same time the pandemic ended, with changes in domestic pet ownership putting a lot of stress on the entire animal services system in Ontario. This complex system involves interactions between many entities including citizens, nonprofit groups, volunteer organizations, and both municipal and provincial levels of government. Additionally, many laws from all 3 levels of government, govern and regulate animal welfare standards.

We are looking for your thoughts about these changes that created the new service model that Municipal Enforcement Services now operates under. This survey strives to gather valuable insights about the impact on your operations, your concerns about the welfare of animals, and your interactions with local authorities.

The purpose of this survey is to gather data that can inform how the changes to Municipal Enforcement Services could be reviewed and communicated to the community, and how they may impact the operations of animal rescue organizations and their effectiveness in serving the community.