Editorial Comment: Enforce by-laws on domestic animals

ZIMPAPERS
THE heart-rending death of a young Masvingo boy who was mauled by a pack of dogs while on his way to school should not have happened. The dogs should never have been allowed to roam the streets without the owner. The case highlights the problem of laxity in enforcing laws pertaining to the control of domestic animals. Stray animals of every description have become a common sight in the country. Dogs are run over every day on urban and rural roads alike, showing that owners no longer care about looking after their pets.

Rural and urban by-laws have specific details on issues like licensing, immunisation, the number of pets that can be kept on a property of a stated size, the perimeter fences that need to be in place, identification tags and other things that are statutory for custody of animals. The penalties related to offences resulting from failure to observe these requirements are also clearly out- lined.

Pets like dogs and cats are run over almost every day in many urban areas, an indication that most of these by-laws are being flouted. Unaccompanied, untagged dogs are often found wandering by the roadside or foraging for food at illegal dumpsites. There have also been cases where dogs have strayed into neighbours’ properties, showing that their owner’s perimeter security is lax.

The question that beggars asking is what the local authorities are waiting for before they take measures to safeguard the lives and comfort of the other residents from the irresponsible owners? Is the death of a child the prod that they need or will it be treated just like another sad tragedy?

Will this development jolt the responsible authorities everywhere in the country to take measures to prevent such things in future? Will this terrible development convince someone to think of the dangers that go beyond physical attacks to the possibility of disease outbreaks from these unmonitored pets?

The City of Harare announced that they would take what amounts to a dog census to ensure that all dogs were licensed and immunised. But that initiative seems to have died a stillbirth, perhaps because when they computed the figures of what they could get out of the whole exercise, they decided that it was not worth the bother.

But we would still urge them and all other local authorities to realise that their role is not to make money out of residents, but to deliver wholesome service. Enforcing by-laws that come under their purview is an important part of that service delivery.

People who err in their duties towards their pets must be prosecuted for the good of the whole community. It is the height of anti-social behaviour to keep pets that become pests or a danger to your neighbours.

In some cities in the country, authorities used to routinely round up stray dogs. Owners would have to satisfy all the statutory requirements before they could reclaim their pet.

Failure to reclaim the dog within a given time-frame meant that it was condemned as a stray animal and put down.
Similarly, cattle, donkeys and goats have become a menace on roads because the fences that were meant to keep animals off the roads have all been vandalised through theft. Many road traffic accidents have occurred because of these animals.

There has been talk of re-erecting the fences. Besides the costs which may delay implementation, there is of course, the question of what measures would be put in place to ensure that the new barriers are also not vandalised.

But at the end of the day, the buck stops with the local authority. Laws on domestic animals must be observed and enforced. There is no excuse for this needless loss of a young life.

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