{"title":"How many dogs or cats you can keep in Williams Lake","question":"How many dogs or cats can I keep?","slug":"how-many-pets","place":{"path":"ca/bc/williams-lake","name":"Williams Lake","region":{"code":"bc","name":"British Columbia"},"country":{"code":"ca","name":"Canada"}},"category":{"slug":"pets-and-wildlife","name":"Pets, animals and wildlife"},"owner":"municipal","owner_label":"Municipal","owner_body":{"name":"City of Williams Lake","url":"https://www.williamslake.ca"},"short_answer":"In Williams Lake you may keep no more than two dogs over four months old and no more than two cats over two months old on any parcel. A kennel is the exception for dogs: it needs a kennel licence and zoning that allows it.","aliases":["pet limit williams lake","how many dogs williams lake","how many cats williams lake","kennel licence williams lake"],"cost":"Kennel licence $50 for 4 or fewer dogs, $100 for 5 or more. Bylaw notice $100 for more than 2 dogs or more than 2 cats ($75 if paid within 14 days; $125 if paid late).","how_long":null,"where":[{"type":"phone","label":"City Hall","value":"250-392-2311"}],"documents":[],"forms":[{"title":"Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw 2102, 2009 (PDF)","url":"https://williamslake.civicweb.net/document/39375"}],"related":[{"slug":"dog-licence","title":"Williams Lake dog licences: fees and how to get one","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/williams-lake/dog-licence/"},{"slug":"backyard-chickens","title":"Williams Lake backyard chickens, bees and livestock rules","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/williams-lake/backyard-chickens/"}],"nearby":[{"place":"ca/bc/100-mile-house","name":"100 Mile House","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/100-mile-house/how-many-pets/"},{"place":"ca/bc/quesnel","name":"Quesnel","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/quesnel/how-many-pets/"},{"place":"ca/bc/clearwater","name":"Clearwater","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/clearwater/how-many-pets/"},{"place":"ca/bc/lillooet","name":"Lillooet","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/lillooet/how-many-pets/"},{"place":"ca/bc/ashcroft","name":"Ashcroft","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/ashcroft/how-many-pets/"},{"place":"ca/bc/barriere","name":"Barriere","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/barriere/how-many-pets/"}],"topic":{"title":"Dog and cat limits in British Columbia, by municipality","url":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/how-many-pets/"},"facts":{"dog_limit":{"label":"Dogs allowed","value":"No more than two dogs over four months old on any parcel in the City, except kennels.","short":"Max two dogs","status":"stated","sources":[{"url":"https://williamslake.civicweb.net/document/39375","title":"Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw 2102, 2009 (consolidated)","section":"s. 17","quotes":["With the exception of kennels, no person shall own, keep, possess or harbour more than two (2) dogs actually or apparently over the age of four (4) months on any parcel in the City."]}],"check":{"result":"matched","text_date":"2026-11-06"}},"cat_limit":{"label":"Cats allowed","value":"No more than two cats over two months old on any parcel in the City.","short":"Max two cats","status":"stated","sources":[{"url":"https://williamslake.civicweb.net/document/39375","title":"Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw 2102, 2009 (consolidated)","section":"s. 27","quotes":["No person shall own, keep, possess or harbour more than two cats actually or apparently over the age of two months on any parcel in the City."]}],"check":{"result":"matched","text_date":"2026-11-06"}},"other_limits":{"label":"Other animal limits","value":"Backyard hens: 3 to 6 depending on lot size, with a hen licence. Backyard bees: at most 2 colonies and 2 nucleus colonies per parcel, with a beekeeping licence. Farm animals only in zones that allow them.","status":"stated","sources":[{"url":"https://williamslake.civicweb.net/document/39375","title":"Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw 2102, 2009 (consolidated)","section":"s. 29.1.2","quotes":["keep at least three (3) and not more than","four (4) hens per parcel that is less than 745 sq m (8,019 sq ft)"]},{"url":"https://williamslake.civicweb.net/document/39375","title":"Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw 2102, 2009 (consolidated)","section":"s. 29.2.3","quotes":["limited to a maximum of two (2) colonies and two (2) nucleus colonies per parcel"]},{"url":"https://williamslake.civicweb.net/document/39375","title":"Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw 2102, 2009 (consolidated)","section":"s. 29","quotes":["No person shall own, keep, possess or harbour any farm animals except in areas designated for that use in the City's Zoning Bylaw"]}],"check":{"result":"matched","text_date":"2026-11-06"}},"exceptions":{"label":"Exceptions","value":"A kennel (more than two dogs over four months old) needs a kennel licence and must be permitted by the Zoning Bylaw; the Animal Control Officer may set the number of dogs. Kennel licence: $50 for 4 or fewer dogs, $100 for 5 or more. Dogs under four months and cats under two months are not counted.","status":"stated","sources":[{"url":"https://williamslake.civicweb.net/document/39375","title":"Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw 2102, 2009 (consolidated)","section":"s. 13","quotes":["unless a kennel is permitted under the City's Zoning Bylaw"]},{"url":"https://williamslake.civicweb.net/document/39375","title":"Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw 2102, 2009 (consolidated)","section":"s. 15","quotes":["the number of dogs permitted at the kennel"]},{"url":"https://williamslake.civicweb.net/document/39375","title":"Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw 2102, 2009 (consolidated)","section":"Schedule A","quotes":["Kennel license @ 4 or less dogs","$50.00","Kennel license @ 5 or more dogs","$100.00"]},{"url":"https://williamslake.civicweb.net/document/39375","title":"Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw 2102, 2009 (consolidated)","section":"definitions, \"kennel\"","quotes":["more than two dogs actually or apparently over the age of four months are kept, trained, boarded or bred"]}],"check":{"result":"matched","text_date":"2026-11-06"}},"fine":{"label":"Fine","value":"Bylaw notice: $100 for more than 2 dogs and $100 for more than 2 cats ($75 if paid within 14 days; $125 if paid late).","status":"stated","sources":[{"url":"https://williamslake.civicweb.net/document/61839","title":"Bylaw Notice Enforcement Bylaw No. 2196, 2013 (consolidated), Schedule A-1","section":"Schedule A-1","quotes":["More than 2 dogs","17","More than 2 cats","27","$100.00","$75.00","$125.00"]}],"check":{"result":"matched","text_date":"2026-11-06"}},"bylaw":{"label":"Bylaw","value":"Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw No. 2102, 2009","status":"stated","sources":[{"url":"https://williamslake.civicweb.net/document/39375","title":"Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw 2102, 2009 (consolidated)","section":"s. 1","quotes":["This Bylaw shall be cited as the Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw No. 2102, 2009."]}],"check":{"result":"matched","text_date":"2026-11-06"}}},"facts_summary":{"total":6,"stated":6,"matched":6,"none":0,"unknown":0},"body_markdown":"## How it works\n\nThe [Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw](https://williamslake.civicweb.net/document/39375) limits animals per parcel in Williams Lake, not per person or household.\n\n## Limits\n\n- Dogs: no more than two over four months old on any parcel, except kennels.\n- Cats: no more than two over two months old on any parcel.\n- Hens: 3 to 6 depending on lot size, with a hen licence. Bees: at most 2 colonies and 2 nucleus colonies per parcel, with a beekeeping licence. Farm animals only in zones that allow them. See the backyard-chickens answer.\n\n## Good to know\n\n- A kennel (more than two dogs over four months old) needs a kennel licence and must be permitted by the Zoning Bylaw. The Animal Control Officer may set the number of dogs. The licence is $50 for 4 or fewer dogs and $100 for 5 or more.\n- Dogs under four months and cats under two months do not appear to be counted, based on the bylaw's wording.\n- Exceeding the limit is a $100 bylaw notice for more than 2 dogs and $100 for more than 2 cats ($75 if paid within 14 days; $125 if paid late).\n- The City's copy of the bylaw is dated 2019; later changes, if any, were not seen.","sources":[{"url":"https://williamslake.civicweb.net/document/39375","title":"Animal Control and Licensing Bylaw 2102, 2009 (consolidated)","accessed":"2026-11-05"},{"url":"https://williamslake.civicweb.net/document/61839","title":"Bylaw Notice Enforcement Bylaw No. 2196, 2013 (consolidated), Schedule A-1","accessed":"2026-11-05"}],"sources_read":"2026-11-05","review":{"status":"machine_checked","badge":"Checked against official text","label":"Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 6 of 6 facts was matched to the official text."},"urls":{"html":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/williams-lake/how-many-pets/","markdown":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/williams-lake/how-many-pets.md","json":"https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/williams-lake/how-many-pets.json"}}