Nunavut Dog Breeder Licensing Requirements

No Nunavut law requires a dog breeder, kennel or pet business to hold a licence, permit or registration. The Dog Act (R.S.N.W.T. 1988, c. D-7) is a former Northwest Territories statute that continues to apply in Nunavut. It deals with feeding, abuse, dogs running at large, dogs in harness, seizure, and dogs that attack people, tethered dogs, food caches or livestock; it does not regulate breeding or sales. Nunavut's version does not include the duty-of-care and distress provisions that the Northwest Territories added to its own Dog Act in 2011, and the only amendments since then, made by the Legislation Act (S.Nu. 2020, c. 15, s. 142), moved certain powers from the Commissioner to the Minister. Community bylaws carry most of the detail. Iqaluit's Domesticated Animal Control By-law No. 924, in effect since January 11, 2022, has no kennel or breeder licence, but it limits a household to three dogs over four months old while allowing a female dog that is suckling puppies (s. 3.5), and it requires every dog in the city to be licensed (s. 3.1).

There is no territorial application. In Iqaluit, dog licences are issued free of charge by the city at City Hall and the Municipal Enforcement Department. The holder must be at least 18 and must give a description of the dog (breed, name, sex and age), the owner's name, address and phone number, whether the dog is spayed or neutered, and proof of vaccination where applicable (By-law No. 924, ss. 3.2, 6.1). An owner must license a dog when it reaches four months of age or when the owner acquires it, and renew by January 5 each year (s. 3.6).

Nunavut charges no breeder or kennel fee. Iqaluit charges no licence fee for altered or unaltered dogs, including puppies under four months; a dog declared vicious by the Nunavut Court of Justice costs $250 to license, and a replacement tag costs $15 (By-law No. 924, Sch. A).

The Dog Act forbids an owner to leave a dog unfed or unwatered long enough to amount to cruelty or to cause the dog to become a nuisance (s. 3), and forbids anyone to punish or abuse a dog in a manner or to an extent that is cruel or unnecessary (s. 4). The Minister may appoint officers, and every RCMP member is an officer by virtue of office (s. 2). An officer may seize a dog from a person found contravening the Act or suspected of doing so; the owner may reclaim it within five days by paying the costs of its care, after which the officer may sell it at public auction or dispose of it, and an injured dog or one that must be destroyed for humane or safety reasons may be destroyed right away (s. 7). The Act gives officers no power to inspect breeding or sale premises. In Iqaluit, owners and anyone in charge of an animal, including foster carers, must provide adequate food and water, adequate care when it is wounded or ill, reasonable protection from injurious heat or cold, and adequate shelter, ventilation and space (By-law No. 924, s. 31); no one may cause an animal to be in distress, or, as owner or person in charge, permit it (s. 30). A Municipal Enforcement Officer may seize an animal in distress, arrange a veterinary assessment at the owner's cost, and take an abandoned animal into custody (ss. 32, 33).

There is no territorial record-keeping rule for breeders, and Iqaluit's bylaw sets none beyond the information required on a licence application, which the owner must update when it changes (By-law No. 924, ss. 6.1, 6.3).

A person who contravenes the Dog Act is liable on summary conviction to a fine of up to $25 or up to 30 days in jail, and on convicting an owner the judge or justice may order any of the owner's dogs destroyed for humane or public safety reasons (s. 13). The federal Criminal Code is the main tool for serious cruelty: wilfully causing an animal unnecessary pain, suffering or injury is punishable by up to five years in prison on indictment, or on summary conviction by a fine of up to $10,000, up to two years less a day in jail, or both (s. 445.1). In Iqaluit, a bylaw offence with no specific penalty listed carries a $200 penalty (By-law No. 924, s. 34.1); a second offence within 12 months doubles the scheduled penalty and later offences triple it (s. 36.4); and a conviction can bring a fine of up to $2,000 for an individual or $10,000 for a corporation (ss. 36.2, 36.3).