(regs. 34 and 35)
(19th February, 1993)
ARRANGEMENT OF BYE-LAWS
BYE-LAW
1. Citation
2. Interpretation
3. Barking, etc., of dogs and bitches in season
4. Troublesome, dangerous or infected dogs
5. Detention and destruction of abandoned or diseased dogs
6. Licensing of dogs
7. Offences and penalties
S.I. 10, 1993,
S.I. 29, 2010.
These Bye-laws may be cited as the Sowa Township (Dogs) Bye-laws*.
*Originally made under the Township Act now repealed, these regulations have been continued under s 94(2) of the Local Government Act, 2013.
In these Bye-laws, unless the context otherwise requires
“authority” means the township authority for Sowa Township;
“dog” includes a bitch;
“public place” includes any road, street, thoroughfare, bridge, foot pavement, open space or park and any enclosed space to which the public is admitted within Sowa Township;
“rabies certificate” means a certificate signed by a veterinary officer within a period of three years prior to its production, stating that the dog has been vaccinated against rabies and that it was six months or more in age at the time of vaccination.
3. Barking, etc., of dogs, and bitches in season
(1) No person shall permit the continual barking or whining of a dog owned by him or in his custody, so as to disturb the comfort of any inhabitants of Sowa Township.
(2) No person shall allow any bitch owned by him or in his custody to be at large at such times as she is on heat or in season.
4. Troublesome, dangerous or infected dogs
(1) No person shall allow any troublesome, ferocious or dangerous dog owned by him or in his custody, or any dog owned by him or in his custody which is suffering from a contagious or infectious disease, to be at large off the premises on which such animal is normally kept.
(2) Any person who keeps any dog of the nature described in sub-bye-law (1) shall display at the principal entrance of the property where the dog is kept, a legible sign reading “BEWARE OF THE DOG” or “TSHABA NTSA”.
5. Detention and destruction of abandoned or diseased dogs
(1) An employee of the authority authorised thereto by the Chief Executive Officer may detain and remove to kennels or other premises owned by the authority any dog which is at large, or not under the control of any person in a public place.
(2) Where any dog detained under the provisions of sub-bye-law (1) is not claimed by or on behalf of its owner within a period of two weeks of such detention, it shall be deemed to be abandoned and, in such event it may be destroyed or otherwise disposed of as the authority may decide:
Provided that the authority may authorise the destruction of a dog before the expiration of the aforesaid period of two weeks where it has reason to believe it is suffering from any infectious or contagious disease of a serious nature and that the destruction of the dog is necessary for the purpose of controlling the spread of such disease.
(3) Subject to the provisions of sub-bye-law (2), the owner of any dog detained under the provisions of this bye-law, may claim such dog on payment of a fee of P10 for each day during which the dog has been detained.
(1) No person shall keep a dog over the age of six months in Sowa Township unless it is licensed in terms of this bye-law:
Provided that:
(a) a dog shall be required to be licensed within four weeks of its attaining the age of six months;
(b) a dog brought into Sowa Township during the course of a calendar year shall be required to be licensed within a period of four weeks from the date when it was so brought in.
(2) The licensing officer of the authority shall
(a) upon application for a dog licence by the owner of the dog;
(b) on production of a rabies certificate relating to the dog; and
(c) on payment of a fee of P20,
issue a licence which shall be valid for 12 months.
(3) A licence issued under the provisions of this bye-law shall be in the form of a metal or plastic badge.
(4) No person shall permit any dog which is required to be licensed under the provisions of this bye-law to be at large unless it is wearing a dog collar to which a current licence issued under the provisions of this bye-law is affixed, and any dog at large in the township which is not wearing such a collar or licence may be detained and dealt with under and in accordance with the provisions of bye-law 5.
(5) Where a dog licence issued under the provisions of this bye-law has been lost, the licensing officer may issue a duplicate thereof on payment of a fee of P1.
Any person contravening any provision of these Bye-laws shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine of P100 or, in default of payment, to imprisonment for two months.