22 Apr 2024

Only five people in Gaborone are compliant to the dog management bye-laws of November 2018 and have registered their animals under the ordinary dog license which costs P50.

Speaking in an interview recently, Gaborone City Council bye-law superintendent, Mr Mateke Twaimango said the dog management licences were in four categories of ordinary dog license for P50, breeding dog license for P1 000, guard dog license for P600 and special purpose dog license for P100.

Mr Twaimango said besides the five registrations under the ordinary dog license, no registration had been recorded under all the other license categories.

He revealed that the city council bye-law office had bought micro-chips and trained staff members on the technology.

He said dogs from three months were required to be licensed and fitted with a metal tag issued by the city council with all its details for ease of identification.

He said the new bye-law also required that every dog should have a micro-chip after being licensed, noting that the chip was implanted by an authorised veterinary surgeon.
Noting that Gaborone had many more dogs than the five legally registered,  he urged dog owners to register them for licensing purposes and ease of identification.

He noted that owning an unregistered dog was a crime punishable by law, adding that first offenders would be liable to a P1 000 fine, three months imprisonment or both.

Repeat offenders, he said, would be charged P2 000 for noncompliance and six months imprisonment, adding that continued violation of the bye-law compelled the city council to impound the dogs and ban the owner from keeping dogs for two years.

Mr Twaimango emphasised that all the requirements were intended to control the city’s dog population, and that they had observed that most dogs were not well taken care of.

He noted that every dog was required to have a kennel where it was kept safely protected against the weathers and that it must have medical attention and regular injections against diseases such as rabbis.

Mr Twaimango also said the new bye-law restricted the number of dogs a person could have in their residential place and that one household was eligible to license only two dogs or apply for an additional dog license at P25 per dog.

As for dog breeders or business owners, he said they were allowed to keep as many dogs as they wished for purposes of selling.

He also noted that the current bye-law required each residential house with a dog to display a written ‘beware of the dog or tshaba ntsa’  sign warning the public.

Mr Twaimango also said the new bye-laws took effect in 2018 and that dog owners were not adequately informed to abide by the regulations owing to the onset of COVID-19 as people were advised to stay home to avoid spreading the virus.

He said they were yet to engage in public awareness campaigns to sensitive dog owners on the importance of the of bye-laws.

He also noted that each council around the country had its own regulations for dog owners in residential areas.

The new bye-law repealed the one made in 1968 which charged P6 for a dog license across the board. ENDS