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Fernie advances animal welfare with rescue partnership
By Erin Knutson
The City of Fernie has partnered with Twin Meadows Animal Rescue Society (TMARS) to support animals in emergencies through municipal animal control operations.
This partnership follows council’s unanimous decision to proceed with the agreement proposed at the February 10 seniors’ centre meeting.
Camille Neal, acting director of corporate services and manager of HR, explained to Mayor Nic Milligan and council that the agreement covers all care, food, and shelter for animals at the municipal pound and supports TMARS in caring for its animals.
She said, “Fernie has a municipal pound located at 1492 Railway Avenue, Fernie (pictured), and agrees to bear the costs of providing food for animals in the pound or otherwise under the city’s control. TMARS may use the municipal pound to provide the services outlined in the Partnering Agreement from Feb. 27, 2026, until Aug. 27, 2028.”
Since 2022, TMARS has rescued nearly 385 animals, and about half of those were from the Fernie area, Neal said in her presentation.
“It’s a collaborative agreement to support efficiency and animal welfare outcomes, cost-neutral delivery and exchange while providing facility access to Twin Meadows, after-hour callouts, improved care for the animals, monitoring, and humane standards,” she said.
The agreement is based on an exchange, which includes shared goals and in-kind services, a model that delivers a service to the community, where budgets are tight, but the need for sufficient animal care is still a high priority, she said.
The municipal pound helps reunite lost animals with their owners, find foster homes, and care for animals that have been abandoned or are in crisis. It serves as a central hub for working with TMARS to support animals better.
“Since its founding in 2020, Twin Meadows Animal Rescue Society, a not-for-profit organization, has built a network of board members and volunteer foster homes, providing support across the Elk Valley. Their work includes reuniting lost animals with their owners, rehoming surrendered pets, and intervening in situations such as animal hoarding, all in partnership with local governments,” said Neal.
The Fernie-Twin Meadows partnership aims to provide humane animal care without putting extra strain on city resources. With support from the mayor and council, the agreement will allow for two more years of improved animal welfare in the community.
“This is clearly a beneficial agreement between all parties,” said Milligan of the collaboration.
e-KNOW file photo
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