--- title: Port Edward dog leash rules and off-leash areas question: "Where can dogs be off leash, and what are the leash rules?" place: Port Edward, British Columbia, Canada place_path: ca/bc/port-edward category: Pets, animals and wildlife owner: municipal owner_body: District of Port Edward sources_read: 2026-11-08 review: machine_checked canonical: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/port-edward/dog-leash-rules/" json: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/port-edward/dog-leash-rules.json" --- # Port Edward dog leash rules and off-leash areas **Question:** Where can dogs be off leash, and what are the leash rules? **Short answer:** In Port Edward, a dog may not be at large, meaning off the owner's property and not under the immediate charge and control of a responsible person. The bylaw defines a leash as 3 to 6 feet long. No off-leash areas are listed. **Who handles it:** Municipal (District of Port Edward, https://www.portedward.ca) **Cost:** No fee. No ticket amount is posted; the bylaw sets a court fine of $50 to $10,000 for any offence. **How long:** Not applicable. **Where:** - Phone: District of Port Edward office (Municipal Hall, 770 Pacific Ave), 250-628-3667 (Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding public holidays) ## Key facts - **Leash rule:** No owner may let a dog be at large or on a highway. 'At large' means off the owner's property and not under the immediate charge and control of a responsible, competent person, or in a public place posted as closed to dogs. - Source: [Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw No. 519, 2011, s. 1 (At Large), s. 9](https://www.portedward.ca/uploads/_bylaws_other/519Animalcontrol.pdf) - Official wording: "No owner of an animal shall permit or cause it to be at large or on a highway" … "not under the immediate charge and control of a responsible and competent person" - Source: [Animal Control, Dogs At Large](https://www.portedward.ca/services/animal-control) - Official wording: "On a leash or under immediate control at all times" - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08 - **Maximum leash length:** A leash is defined as no more than 6 feet and no less than 3 feet long. - Source: [Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw No. 519, 2011, s. 1 (Leash)](https://www.portedward.ca/uploads/_bylaws_other/519Animalcontrol.pdf) - Official wording: "no more than six (6) feet in length and no less than three (3) feet" - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08 - **Off-leash areas:** Not confirmed. No official page lists or maps any off-leash area. - **Places dogs are not allowed:** Public places posted as prohibited to dogs; a dog found there is 'at large'. - Source: [Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw No. 519, 2011, s. 1 (At Large)](https://www.portedward.ca/uploads/_bylaws_other/519Animalcontrol.pdf) - Official wording: "in or upon a public place posted as being prohibited to dogs." - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08 - **Cleaning up:** You must remove your dog's waste immediately when it defecates on someone else's property (Bylaw 519 s. 31) or, as the District's page states, in a public space. (Sources differ: The District page extends this to public spaces; the bylaw text only names another person's property.) - Source: [Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw No. 519, 2011, s. 31 (second)](https://www.portedward.ca/uploads/_bylaws_other/519Animalcontrol.pdf) - Official wording: "An owner whose dog defecates on another person's property shall forthwith remove the defecated matter." - Source: [Animal Control, Picking Up After Your Dog](https://www.portedward.ca/services/animal-control) - Official wording: "you must remove the waste immediately" … "If your dog defecates on someone else’s property or in a public space, you must remove the waste immediately." - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08 - **Fine, dog at large or off leash:** Not confirmed. No ticket amount for a dog at large is posted. - **Bylaw:** District of Port Edward Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw No. 519, 2011 - Source: [Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw No. 519, 2011, s. 39](https://www.portedward.ca/uploads/_bylaws_other/519Animalcontrol.pdf) - Official wording: "Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw No. 519, 2011" - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-08 ## How it works Under the District's [Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw No. 519, 2011](), no owner may let a dog be at large or on a highway. "At large" means off the owner's property and not under the immediate charge and control of a responsible, competent person, or in a public place posted as closed to dogs. The District's [Animal Control page]() says dogs must be on a leash or under immediate control unless on the owner's property or in a designated off-leash area. ## Good to know - The bylaw defines a leash as no more than 6 feet and no less than 3 feet long. - A female dog in heat must be on a leash unless confined (s. 14). - No official page lists or maps any off-leash area, although the Animal Control page mentions "a designated off-leash area". Ask the District office at 250-628-3667. - Places posted as closed to dogs: the bylaw has no list. - Clean-up: the bylaw (s. 31) requires you to remove your dog's waste immediately when it defecates on someone else's property. The District's page extends this to public spaces, so pick it up there too. - A dog at large may be impounded. The basic impoundment fee is $50 (Schedule B). - No ticket amount is posted. The bylaw sets a court fine of $50 to $10,000 for any offence. ## Official forms and pages - [Animal Control, District of Port Edward](https://www.portedward.ca/services/animal-control) - [Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw No. 519, 2011 (PDF)](https://www.portedward.ca/uploads/_bylaws_other/519Animalcontrol.pdf) ## Related questions - [Port Edward dog licences: fees and how to get one](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/port-edward/dog-licence.md) - [How many dogs or cats you can keep in Port Edward](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/port-edward/how-many-pets.md) - [Port Edward rules for aggressive and dangerous dogs](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/port-edward/dangerous-dogs.md) ## The same question elsewhere - [Dog leash rules in British Columbia, by municipality](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/dog-leash-rules.md) - [Prince Rupert](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/prince-rupert/dog-leash-rules.md) - [Kitimat](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/kitimat/dog-leash-rules.md) - [Terrace](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/terrace/dog-leash-rules.md) - [New Hazelton](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/new-hazelton/dog-leash-rules.md) - [Smithers](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/smithers/dog-leash-rules.md) - [Telkwa](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/telkwa/dog-leash-rules.md) ## Sources - [Animal Control, District of Port Edward](https://www.portedward.ca/services/animal-control) (read 2026-11-08) - [Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw No. 519, 2011 (PDF)](https://www.portedward.ca/uploads/_bylaws_other/519Animalcontrol.pdf) (read 2026-11-08) - [Resident Complaint Form, District of Port Edward](https://www.portedward.ca/web-forms/resident-complaint-form) (read 2026-11-08) _Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 5 of 7 facts was matched to the official text; 2 could not be confirmed. Gov Handbook is an independent guide, not affiliated with District of Port Edward. How answers are checked: https://govhandbook.com/methods/ · Canonical page: https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/port-edward/dog-leash-rules/_