Surrey councillors want the province to get tough on people who leave their dogs tied up in the yard for long periods of time.

The BC SPCA appreciates the gesture, but questions whether the language being used goes far enough.

What Surrey is proposing is a change to BC’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act so that people who tether their dogs can be subject to punishment. The issue goes to the Union of BC Municipalities convention next month.

But Marcie Moriarty with the BC SPCA says the problem is wording that’s used wouldn’t actually mean much for animal cruelty investigators.

“There is some tweaking [that needs to be done] and I’d like to see a comment that it’s not acceptable as a primary means of confinement because what they’re suggesting right now, we actually do have that power.”

Several municipalities have brought in their own rules to crack down on tethering. Moriarty has been hoping for a province-wide ban for some time now.