By Flata Kavinga
The Municipality of Redcliff has announced plans to penalize residents who keep more dogs than permitted by local bylaws, with the local authority set to enlist the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) to enforce the measures.
Speaking in an interview after a full council meeting, the municipality’s chief security officer Innocent Chiwara said the council will soon publish notices in local newspapers and newsletters to inform residents of the regulations governing dog ownership.
“We have decided to give a flight in the local newspaper and newsletters so that people are made aware. We have flighted our intentions that dogs should be licensed, and we intend to penalize those who are keeping dogs which are in excess of what is required by the bylaws,” Chiwara said.
He explained that the Redcliff municipal bylaws allow each household to keep a maximum of two dogs, and any additional dogs will attract penalties.
“Every dog that is in excess, you have to be penalized. And those who are into breeding dogs have to pay for special licenses,” he added.
Chiwara warned that after the public notices have been issued, the council will engage the SPCA to enforce compliance.
“We are going to engage the SPCA such that those who are in contravention, the dogs will be put down with no further notice,” he said.
He said the move was motivated by concerns over public health risks, particularly the spread of diseases such as rabies caused by stray or unlicensed dogs.
The municipality has in recent months raised alarm over the increasing number of unlicensed and stray dogs in Redcliff’s suburbs, posing a danger to residents and public health.
