By Bafana Nzimande
THE City's legal department has been inundated with written submissions from the public and animal welfare organisations on the proposed by-laws relating to dogs and cats.
Debate was sparked across the city when the draft by-laws were made public, with residents writing to newspapers and phoning radio stations. More than 5 000 votes were recorded in an opinion poll on the City website.
The legal department received so many emails and letters, legal adviser and co-ordinator of by-laws Pieter de Klerk said they would take some time to work through. The department has five box-files of comments to consider.
In May the council decided to invite comments and suggestions about the draft by-laws, which are aimed at maintaining a healthy and controllable population of dogs and cats in Johannesburg.
The closing date for comments was Tuesday, 31 May.
The legal department is reading all the submissions and will forward a summary of the comments and the necessary amendments to the council before the end of this year.
"Due to the large number of comments, the department would not like to bind itself to a fixed date for submitting its report to the council," De Klerk said, adding, "but we will do our utmost to go through all the submissions and report to the council before the end of this year."
In addition to the call for written comments, the City held a meeting chaired by the its director of health, Dr Refik Bismilla, with representatives from animal welfare organisations on Monday, 30 May.
Issues raised included the number of animals residents would be allowed to keep, the sterilisation of animals and the licencing of dogs and cats. "Some people indicated that residents should be allowed to determine for themselves the number of animals they could keep, while others said there should be some relation between the number of animals and the size of the property on which they are kept," De Klerk said.
In support of the by-laws, several organisations applauded the City for including provisions dealing with cats - previously excluded from the by-laws.
"Unfortunately the City can't please everybody," said De Klerk, "but there is a need for these by-laws to be initiated to ensure the welfare of domestic animals and excellent environmental health standards around Joburg."
Regarding the limit on the number of dogs and cats per household - two dogs and three cats per property - De Klerk said, this did not mean that animals had to be "put down" to comply with the legislation, if it was promulgated. Pet owners would be allowed to keep their pets, but not replace them when they died.
The final by-laws will be promulgated once the final draft has been approved by the council.
De Klerk said the City would keep residents informed about developments regarding the proposed by-laws. "It is anticipated the public will be informed through emails to animal care organisations, the Joburg website and, if necessary, via press statements."
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