Cape Town - More than 100 dogs have been put down over the last two years after biting people on the streets, beaches and in the parks of Cape Town.
Mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith said that since January last year, 200 dogs were impounded in cases related to attacks. Of these, 91 were attacks on people and at least 24 of the victims were children.
The crackdown follows the introduction of the city council’s controversial animal by-law in 2010, which introduced a range of measures and conditions for animal ownership as well outlining the possible actions the city could take against “errant” dog owners.
It earned a lot of criticism, and praise, for its “six-minute bark rule” which would allow the city to fine owners, and even impound their dogs, if their dog barked, yelped or whined for longer than six minutes every hour.
Smith said the Animal Control Unit - which forms part of city law enforcement - had its hands full with complaints about animal behaviour.
Many dogs had been impounded for breaking the barking barrier. But most were taken to the SPCA’s and Animal Welfare Society’s kennels after attacking people and other dogs.
The city has dished out fines ranging from R250 to R2 000. But in many of the more severe cases, where dogs were involved in attacks, the animals were put down.
“Destruction notices were issued for 112 dogs,” said Smith, “while the rest of the animals impounded were returned to their owners or rehomed.”
He added that the “disposal” notices were not taken lightly and were only sent out after “exhaustive consultation with all parties concerned, and also taking into account the nature of the incident and the injuries sustained”.
Law enforcement chief Rudolf Wiltshire said in the most recent attack, a Rottweiler had mauled a child in Ottery. The dog was immediately impounded.
Smith said: “The by-law is very clear in terms of dogs being secured on a leash or behind a gate on the owner’s property, but there are still far too many dog owners for whom common sense is simply lacking. You cannot predict how your dog will react, no matter how friendly it seems at home, so why not reduce the risk of an incident by keeping your dog on a leash in public spaces.”
Cape Argus