Cape Town - The chairperson of the safety and security portfolio committee in the City, Mzwakhe Nqavashe, said it welcome the promulgation of the amended Animal Keeping By-law.
“The by-law replaces the Animal By-law of 2010 which focused on guiding pet ownership, the welfare of working equines, etc, and is far more comprehensive and provides a very clear guide to animal owners or care-givers, breeders of animals and the public at large, as to how to apply the duty to care principle to all animals within the City’s jurisdiction.
“We have also included new sections relating to dog fighting, provided guidelines on the keeping of other categories of animals like bees, and we have expanded the scope beyond breeders and kennels, to also consider places of business like pet parlours, pet day care centres and hotels, as well as persons operating in the animal welfare sector,” said Nqavashe.
Following its promulgation, the City will now set out to start educating the public on the provisions of the by-law, in partnership with the animal welfare sector.
“In particular, animal sterilisation is now mandatory, unless an exemption is granted in terms of the by-law. Details on exemption applications will be made public in due course, once our standard operating procedure is finalised.
“There is also an increase in the number of complaints around animal welfare, which is placing immense pressure on the SPCA and other organisations in the animal welfare sector, as well as the City’s Law Enforcement Department,” said Nqavashe.
Animal Welfare Society of South Africa (AWSSA) hospital receptionist Savanna Small said it was going to be a long process to get people on board.
“We are beyond happy. It is hopefully going to reduce the amount of strain and increases in puppies being surrendered and unregulated. The uncontrolled breeding of animals is at the heart of many animal welfare concerns. It is for the benefit of the animals that this law is going to help us in enforcing those benefits.
“The biggest first step is to educate people on why they should sterilise, the benefits thereof and what the impact is,” said Small.