Despite a council vote not granting them a bylaw exemption earlier this year, the reptile zoo Reptilia has opened its doors to the public.
Reptilia, located at the Westmount Commons in the southwest end of the city, opened to the public on Saturday, with officials from the organization saying the response has been positive.
“Zoo staff were able to witness children interacting with their first snake, immediately sparking curiosity, helping to create an entirely new generation of wildlife ambassadors,” said Ryan Vince, a general manager with Reptilia.
“Overall, outstanding positivity from all of our guests.”
Back in mid-February, London city council voted 9-6 against moving forward with the process of granting an exemption for the reptile zoo to house Class 7 animals such as crocodiles, alligators, venomous snakes and venomous lizards not native to Canada.
While the vote rendered the issue a closed matter as far as council was concerned, some councillors, such as deputy mayor Shawn Lewis, suspected the issue would continue for the city.
“I think we are done at council. Now, is the issue done for the city? I suspect no. I suspect this may ultimately end up in a legal challenge before the courts,” said Lewis the day after the 9-6 vote.
Lewis’ prediction appears to be accurate, as a lawyer representing the reptile zoo, Michael Lerner, told Global News the day after the vote Reptilia intended to move forward with opening after securing a 35,000 square foot space inside the mall.
Lerner said Reptilia, which also has facilities in Vaughn and Whitby, would be opening under the legal opinion that since they operate under a provincial licence, they are exempt from municipal bylaws concerning animals.
Indeed, from the beginning of March through to opening on April 22, Reptilia posted regularly on social media about the animals it had been moving into the London facility. Vince says among the collection housed are a pair of American alligators that had been rescued after being housed illegally.
While the opening of the facility would presumably violate the city’s animal control bylaw – the same bylaw Reptilia initially sought an exemption for that prohibits the ownership and display of exotic animals “normally found in a wild and natural state,” – Vince says they have not had any issues regarding bylaw since opening.
Ward 10 Coun. Paul Van Meerbergen, who represents the riding where Reptilia is located and has been a supporter of the reptile zoo coming to London, said on Monday he is not concerned that Reptilia went ahead and opened despite council’s vote in February.
“They are operating under a provincial licence and if there are any nuances or tweaking to be done, obviously that will be done between various lawyers,” said Van Meerbergen.
In a statement to Global News, Orest Katolyk, director of municipal compliance for the city of London, said, “The City has received complaints regarding this location, but will not be making any comments regarding enforcement actions.”
Van Meerbergen says he believes it is a “win-win-win” for the zoo, city and residents to have Reptilia open.
“It has so many positive spin offs, including educational aspects, tourism, the expenditures of dollars within our city for restaurants and hotels,” Van Meerbergen said.
The three-term councillor added that while the bylaw issues will be dealt with between lawyers, the city and Reptilia had been working together to resolve building permit obligations.
Van Meerbergen says those issues are now straightened out, which allowed the zoo to open. Reptilia had been advertising to open in March before delays pushed it back multiple weeks.
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
