Winnipeg Humane Society makes proposal to increase pet-friendly housing

The Winnipeg Humane Society wants city councillors to ensure a certain number of new spaces being built are pet friendly.

The Winnipeg Humane Society wants more pet-friendly housing options in the city.

To achieve this goal, the animal shelter is asking the City of Winnipeg to require all developers accessing city funds, grants or tax credits to make a percentage of the affordable housing units pet inclusive.

“The challenge is though, that people who are renting can’t always find accommodations to take those pets in with them,” said Krista Boryskavich with the Winnipeg Humane Society in an interview on Wednesday.

“We found this on an across-Canada basis that equally applies at the Winnipeg Humane Society.”

According to the Humane Society, there is a shortage of pet-friendly housing options despite the fact that about 60 per cent of Canadian households have pets.

It noted that seniors and young people are most affected by this shortage, adding it’s the second most common reason why people surrender their pets to the Humane Society.

Boryskavich said the shortage of pet-friendly housing creates challenges for animal shelters but is an even bigger tragedy for those who can’t keep their pets.

“The Winnipeg Humane Society, our mission is to try to keep pets in homes, keep families reunited as much as possible… But this is a challenge in terms of finding permanent housing for people who are looking to rent accommodations,” she said.

The Winnipeg Humane Society is hoping to make this policy change on municipal, provincial, and federal levels.

• With files from CTV’s Jon Hendricks.