The owners of a Grand Bend-area big cat sanctuary have been told to remove any exotic animals from their property by June 2.
Ontario Superior Court recently extended a deadline for removal after issuing a permanent injunction against Roaring Cat Retreat earlier this year, outlawing the housing of exotic animals within the Municipality of Lambton Shores.
The court said, "if the respondents fail to remove the animals by June 2, the applicant may immediately bring a motion to be heard on an urgent basis for contempt of court."
Lambton Shores Mayor Bill Weber welcomed the decision.
"This was a court order, it was a long process, so yes, they're bringing them into compliance with the zoning bylaws," said Weber. "There is still outstanding issues but I believe we'll see where it goes after the deadlines pass. There is other charges that are being pursued and legal matters."
In April of 2019, Lambton Shores councillors unanimously passed an exotic animal bylaw that bans the ownership of animals including tigers, lions, cougars and leopards.
Weber said council raised a number of concerns when they first heard about the possible development of a big cat sanctuary in the area.
"The property was not zoned for that type of an operation, it was a residential zoning, so we wanted to bring that in line with what the zoning was on the property. And the structures that were used, we felt that, for the neighbours, there was a safety concern."
In November, a social media post showed an escaped lion cub on a local street not far from the retreat, which is located at the former Pineridge Zoo site at 9827 Parkview Cres.