By Staff Reporter
WINDHOEK
The owners of unlicensed or stray dogs are in for a tough time come September this year, when the City of Windhoek and the Society for the Protection Against Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) embark on a canine control operation.
From September to November this year, authorities will be targeting any stray dogs, and even unlicensed pets, which will result in punitive measures against the owners.
In a recent media release it was stated that the City of Windhoek had been experiencing a major problem with the non-compliance by dog-owners with the Dog Control Regulations.
In terms of those regulations, dog-owners are not allowed to let their dogs run loose in the streets; they must have them vaccinated against contagious diseases like rabies; they may not allow their pets to become a safety threat to residents or to allow dogs to cause a disturbance to residents and, most importantly, they must ensure that their dogs are licensed.
However, authorities feel that adherence to these regulations has fallen on deaf ears in the past and that the time has now come to take action against the culprits through the upcoming Dog Control Operation Campaign.
Activities that will be carried out in a month’s time will include house-to-house inspections on whether dogs are licensed or not; cages will be set up in streets to catch stray dogs, and dog-owners will be issued with fines should they go against the Dog Control Regulations. This ultimately means that any dogs caught will be impounded if owners fail to pay the issued fine in terms of the regulations.
“It should be noted that failure to pay the fines will result in warrants of arrest being issued against the dog-owners,” the municipal statement reads.
Impounded dogs will then be taken to the SPCA, and dog-owners will have to bear the daily cost of N$50 per dog to cover the SPCA costs of feeding and cleaning the dogs.
The statement reads further that “if a dog is not collected within three days it will be euthanized (put down) or relocated to a new owner.”
Dog licences are normally available at any municipal offices at a cost of N$15 per neutered or spayed dog and N$30 per un-neutered or unspayed dog.
A penalty of 10 percent is added every month as from the end of February each year.
Owners are therefore advised to bring along their sterilization certificates as proof that their dogs are neutered or spayed, which will mean that they will pay less at the end of the day. Without this certificate of proof, dog-owners’ claims will not be accepted.
Residents of informal settlements of the city are not allowed to own any dogs as many of them do not have yards in which to contain their dogs. Having a yard is one of the requirements in the Dog Control Regulations.
During the Dog Control Campaign, dogs will also be vaccinated against any infections and contagious diseases.
In view of this, residents are requested to have their dogs vaccinated as from September 1, 2007 when veterinarians will be operating from a mobile clinic for the three-month vaccination campaign period.