28 May 2019

Gaborone City Council (GCC) has introduced new dog bye-laws, which repeal the 1968 bye-law.

The bye-law was enacted in November 2018. 

Speaking in an interview, GCC public relations officer, Ms Segametsi Kebonang said the old bye-law only charged P6 for a dog license across the board, while the new bye-law had different charges for different types of dogs. 

“The current bye-law charges P50 for an ordinary dog license, P1 000 for a breeding dog license, P600 for a guard dog and P100 for a special dog license,” she said.

At the age of three months, Ms Kebonang said a dog was supposed to be licensed and have a metal tag issued by the council, which should be affixed to the dog’s neck by means of a collar at all times, with all its details for ease of identification.

Additionally, she said the new bye-law also required that every dog should have a microchip after being licensed. 

“This microchip should be implanted in a dog by an authorised veterinary surgeon.  

It will contain all the details of the dog as written in the license, such as; full names of the owner, name of the dog, age, gender, plot number and contact details for ease of trace in case the dog is lost and found to be roaming,” explained Ms Kebonang.

Once a dog is found to be roaming and being a nuisance to the community, she said it could be reported to council bye-law office and a charge, not exceeding P1 000, would be instituted to the dog owner. 

The old bye-law, she said only charged P15 on roaming dogs. 

“The P1 000 charge also applies to the contravening of all dog bye-laws,” she added. 

Further, Ms Kebonang said contrary to the old bye-law that did not have a restriction on the number of dogs to have in a residential place, the current one states that a residential place is only licensed to two dogs.

However, she explained that, when having more than two dogs, people may apply for an additional dog licence at a charge of P25 per dog. 

The current bye-law also insists that every residential yard with a dog should display a sign written: ‘Beware of the Dog’ or ‘Tshaba Ntsa’. ends