Officers from City of Cape Town Law Enforcement’s Animal Control Unit yesterday conducted operations focusing on the enforcement of the Animal Bylaw, which requires that residents register their pets with the City. The operation aimed to facilitate pet registration and identification, and yielded the following results:
- 14 stray or unwanted dogs and 2 stray cats were impounded
- 296 dogs and 21 cats were registered
- 180 registration forms were distributed to residents in the surrounding areas
- 4 Written Notices to Appear in Court with Admission of Guilt fines amounting to R2000 were served
The impounded animals were all taken to the Bellville branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
“The Animal Control Unit is committed to enforcing the Animal Bylaw in a multi-faceted manner. This involves creating awareness around the obligations of pet owners, incremental and progressively more stringent enforcement, sterilization (where possible), impoundments and forming partnerships with organisations belonging to the Western Cape Animal Welfare Forum,” said Alderman Jean-Pierre Smith, Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security.
The City has extended its original pet registration deadline of 31 July 2012 for automatic permission (for extra animals) by one month, and the final deadline for the whole process to 30 September 2012. Law enforcement officers will start to impose penalties for non-compliance once this deadline has passed.
The Pet Registration process is in line with the City of Cape Town’s Animal By-Law of 2010 where, instead of buying an annual dog licence, pet owners are simply required to register all cats and dogs kept on their property.
Pet owners applying after this deadline can rest assured that their applications for more animals than permitted per property will never be unreasonably denied, but may involve inspections. Thereafter they may be fined for their excess animals, and for pets without a chip, name tag or tattoo to identify them.
Once pet owners have registered their pets, they are encouraged to update their pets’ details in respect of new pets and or pet deaths as and when they occur. This process will help the City develop accurate information on the domestic animal population in Cape Town.
“The registration process is completely free. Knowing the type, breed and other relevant information will aid in animal welfare planning and budgeting,” said Ald. Smith.
Owners of unregistered pets will be issued with a compliance notice, which may then be followed by a fine of R300.
