BRONWYNNE JOOSTE
Metro Writer
THE CITY’s Animal Control By-law, which prohibits dogs from barking, howling, yelping or whining for more than six minutes every hour, is a step away from giving officials the clout to fine owners or confiscate their animals.
The by-law has been sent to the provincial Government Gazette.
Since the beginning of the year the city has logged 2 413 complaints about noisy, stray or dangerous dogs, and 1 319 relate to noisy dogs.
The by-law will allow law enforcement officers to fine owners of noisy dogs up to R1 000.
If dogs are particularly problematic, officers will be able to approach magistrates and have the animals impounded.
But the city has stressed this would be a last resort and it would not be common for dogs to be taken away from their owners for barking.
Impoundment would be reserved for strays.
Other dog-related complaints received by the city involve dogs on beaches, stray dogs and dogs not on leashes. Mayoral committee member for safety JP Smith said that between July 2009 and July this year, 5 766 complaints from residents had been related to dogs.
Over that time there were 8 163 traffic-related complaints.
Statistics provided by Smith show that dog-related complaints are keeping officers busy.
Currently, dog owners are first issued with warnings. After this, they are fined R500. If complaints continue the matter goes to court ,which can issue a steeper fine and an impoundment order.
The new by-law will provide a better benchmark of what is considered a nuisance if a matter goes to court, said Smith.
“Law enforcement will have the authority to impound a dog that barks, yelps, howls or whines for more than six accumulated minutes in an hour, or more than three accumulated minutes in a half-hour.”
Smith said most complaints usually came through the city’s call centre, but after a resident had dealt with a law enforcement officer they would call them directly or contact their local ward councillor. Complaints were also e-mailed or sent through the city’s C3 notification system.
After dog-related complaints, general noise nuisances and vagrants were the source of most complaints.
Large parts of the western area, which includes parts of the southern suburbs and of the northern suburbs were hot spots for dog-related complaints. Parts of Athlone and Somerset West also had a high number of complaints.
In the eastern area, including Somerset West, 844 complaints about barking dogs were registered since the beginning of the year.
There were far fewer complaints on the Cape Flats, including Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha.
“All areas are problematic, but the eastern area shows a greater number of complaints,” said Smith.
He said it had been difficult for officers to gauge the level of the barking nuisance, but the by-law would provide a clear “barometer”.
Since the beginning of the year, the city had issued 685 fines for “dog offences”. The complainants either worked from home, worked night shift or were retired.
Dogs were noisiest in the middle of the day, with fewer complaints when owners were home in the afternoon.
Smith said barking levels depended on the dog’s temperament and breed, but in some cases constant barking was “avoidable”.
He said dogs should be properly exercised and fed, which was sometimes the solution.