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The Royal Canin SPCA Mutt of the Year 2010
is a Newlands Forest regular, read her story

Report-back, May 2010

Where are the free running areas?

Animal by-law for Cape Town

TMNP Environmental Management Programme

Walking with Dogs in the TMNP

Emergency Numbers



Muggings

emails received recently from the Table Mountain Safety Action Group

Thursday 7 July
09:42: Sandy Bay Beach
- Armed Robbery. 7 white males robbed by 2 black males armed with pangas. Bags, cellphones, wallets and other smaller items stolen. This puts paid to the Walk in Groups theory of TMNP. The bigger the group the bigger the haul. These people are aggressive and its better to acquiesce and hand over than to suffer injury. For now, stay out of this area.

Sunday 20 June 2010
15h00 Sandy Bay:
Two tourists attacked

Sunday (4 July) - 17:50.
Blockhouse attack
A cyclist was coming off Devils Peak and as he came out of the bushes just above the Blockhouse saw two black thugs in their late twenties coming up from below the Blockhouse. The front guy pulled a knife yanked him off his bicycle, knifed his tyre and stole his pack with cellphone, camera bag, camera, cash and jacket. They carried on walking up the path after the attack. He tried reporting the attack at the Mowbray police station but they said they couldn't help as it was outside their jurisdiction. He was sent to the Rondebosch police station where he met a group of four hikers who had also just been mugged by the same suspects. So - two attacks in the same area by the same suspects. Be careful in this area - especially later in the day.

Friday 18 June 2010
midday in the Vlakkenberg (Hout Bay) region
: four female hikers were attacked by 3 ‘young looking’ black males. Knives were used to threaten - no-one was injured. All of their equipment was taken: Jackets, Backpacks, Boots, Cameras, Cell Phones etc. SAPF Hout Bay were informed.

29 May
Saddle attack,
midday, two women mugged on the path from Saddle up to Devil's Peak. Two guys moving swiftly up the hill from the Newlands side and two moving along the path below. They had knives and stole cameras and backpacks, then ran away direction Newlands Ravine. All 4 were young black men, average sized, aged 20-25ish, wearing dark clothes, one a blue anorak. The most aggressive had a squint eye.

May 2010
warning about recent attacks that have been reported in the Newlands area, one by a knife-wielding gang above the contour path near Skeleton Gorge, another near the blockhouse and another in the forest (late morning on a wet Wednesday, up near the contour path).

Watch your back when suspicious-looking people have passed you; the Skeleton Gorge victims reported that they had passed three dubious looking black guys who then attacked them from behind.



Missing Person

Nigel Roberts

went missing in the Chapman's Peak area on the evening of 26th July 2010. He was wearing khaki pants and a white & red t-shirt. Nigel's family and friends are desperate to find him and any information of his whereabouts would be gratefully appreciated.


If you have any news of him, please phone

  • Investigating officer: W/O Du Plooy 072 302 9603
  • or his mother on 082-740-1602


Friends of the Dog Walkers reportback, 19 May 2010

The draft animal bylaw.
I have been informed that this is up for approval by the City Council on 25 May . FDW sent in a detailed comment on the second draft which you can read on our website www.dogwalkers.org.za. I don't see that any of our suggestions has been adopted in the latest draft. In particular, we object to section 5(e) which prohibits the keeping of any dog that barks for more than 6 minutes in any hour or more than 3 minutes in any half hour. For what ever reason! This is a neurotics' charter and could result in impoundment of the dogs .

The problem that does need to be addressed is persistent barking or howling and this is perfectly well dealt with by section 5(f) which prohibits the keeping of " any dog which by barking, yelping, howling or whining ..causes a disturbance or nuisance to inhabitants or the neighbourhood". Anyway, the general principles of nuisance are appropriate to deal with noisy dogs. The bylaw empowers the council to provide free-running areas for dogs, while elsewhere in public places they must be leashed. This is not new but we have noted that there is no obligation to provide these areas. I have been getting quite a few complaints from dog owners in different parts of Cape Town that there are no free-running areas in their neighbourhood and they are being harassed by city staff for exercising their dogs off-lead. FDW believes that free-running spaces are essential for the wellbeing of dogs and safer for the owners. Please will anyone who is frustrated by not being able to exercise their dogs conveniently near their homes let us know and also put pressure on their councillor.

The same goes for the requirement for dog walkers to carry plastic bags and put the excrement in bins. Where are all the street bins for this? Cities in other countries that successfully deal with this problem supply plenty of dedicated bins in parks and streets where dogs are walked . Here we don't even have them on the beaches. If there are things in the draft animal by law that you do not agree with I suggest you email Councillor JP Smith before 25 May as he is leading the draft process; Jean-Pierre.Smith@captown.gov.za, phone 0214001311/0.
No need to be rude, he is a hardworking young man.

We can be thankful that dogs are generally allowed free running in the TMNP provided the owners have purchased a Wild card with dog permit. When you renew your card at the Park's office at Westlake you should receive an informative leaflet with maps as well as the dog code. This code is in two sections, one called Etiquette and the other Compliance. The idea is that Park authorities will introduce formal rules incorporating the Compliance provisions which will then carry penalties. These rules will need first to go through another public comment period before being gazetted so if or when this happens you will have another opportunity to have your say. I have the impression that Park authorities are more open to public opinion than the city which is surprising as it is the council that needs our votes.
regards to all
Geraldine Goncalves,
Secretary, Friends of the Dog Walkers



Where are the free running areas??

Friends of the Dog Walkers' comment on the draft Animal Bylaw sent in to the council.

Section 5(g)(vi) "...the council may designate public places...as free running..areas..."

There should be an obligation on the part of the council to designate sufficient free running areas in all neighbourhoods. There are some areas within the municipal borders where there is nowhere at all where a dog may be allowed to run free.

Cape Town is a city of dog lovers. Everywhere you go you see people walking their dogs, playing with their dogs in open areas and even sitting in restaurants with their dogs. It is part of the culture of the city, where people tend to be more laid back and love being outdoors. Slowly but surely however the city is clamping down on places where you could walk your dog. Beaches where dogs used to be allowed, like the whole area between Big Bay and Melkbosstrand, have without consultation been turned into "no dog" beaches.

Now fines are being issued on Big Bay beach to rate-paying citizens whose dogs are under control, but not on lead. There are no dog-related signs in the parking area used by the dog walkers, or along their path to the beach.

The new Animal bylaw provides for designated free-running areas to be declared. However, there exist no such free-running areas in the Milnerton / Blouberg / Big Bay area. The large number of dog walkers in the area have fewer and fewer places available to them where they can exercise their dogs without being prosecuted. Historically, in this region rate-paying citizens have had access to the beaches for exercising dogs. This access has now been revoked without alternatives being provided. We therefore request that at least two beach areas be declared as free-running dog walking zones - one between Milnerton and Dolphin Beach, and another between Big Bay and Melkbos Strand. A quick look at Google Earth suggests that the following regions would be suitable, without inconveniencing non dog-owners, or conflicting with sensitive nature areas, such as the pristine growth of slimy algae on the proposed Blue Flag beach in front of Horizon Bay.

  • Dog Walk Region 1 at Sunset Beach, from the Bursa Way car park North along the beach up to a point opposite the Northern shore of Flamingo Vlei.
  • Dog Walk Region 2 North of Big Bay, from a point on the beach opposite Seaside Village shopping centre up to the southern limit of the fenced recreation area.

These two beach areas have been heavily used for many years for dog exercising, and little else. Declaring them as formal free-running areas would regularise the situation without disadvantaging any stakeholders.


Friends,

Please support us in the call for free-running beaches for dogs.
Copy the letter below and email it to your friends and to the councillors for this area,
particularly to councillor Ian Nielson: ian.neilson@capetown.gov.za
Thank you,
Annelize and Charles Crosby

Dear Councillor,

It is with considerable concern that we have noticed that the Metro Police has started issuing fines to people exercising dogs off-leash on some of the beaches in the Blaauwberg / Big Bay region. Historically, the practice of responsible off-lead dog walking has been very much part of life in Cape Town. While recognising that some non-dog owners may find this somewhat intimidating, a blanket ban on all beaches makes life very difficult for the dog owners, who have come to rely on this access for exercise, recreation and socialisation of dogs. We have noticed that the municipal by-laws relating to animals make provision for "free-running" areas to be declared. To the best of our knowledge, there are currently no such designated areas in the Blaauwberg / Table View region. What steps need to be taken to get such areas declared? We would like to recommend that the following two areas be declared as "free-running" dog walk regions:

  1. The stretch of beach between the Bursa Way car park in Sunset Beach and a point on the beach opposite the Northern shore of Flamingo Vlei
  2. The stretch of beach North of Big Bay, from opposite the Seaside Village shopping centre, stretching north along the beach up to the southern limit of the fenced-off recreation area at Eerste Steen, south of the nature conservation area

These two beaches, illustrated below in Google Earth photographs, have been extensively used by dog walkers (and very few other people) for many years, and officially declaring them as "free-running" areas would regularise the practice and avoid confrontation, without inconveniencing any other stakeholders.
We would greatly appreciate your advice in this matter.
Sincerely,
 

Babu: from dumped and abandoned, to beloved pal and now SPCA Mutt of the Year

In my dim early memories of "the time before", I remember being left alone on a big empty space the humans call Rondebosch Common. My left legs were held together with wire so I couldn't follow the people who left me there. Why they left me I have no idea, I am so full of love and loyalty that my heart broke when they left me and I was very scared.

Next I remember being sad and forlorn in a kennel with two other sad little dogs. We were fed by kind people but I had no human to follow and hold me and tell me they loved me. I was there for a long, long time (3 months) until one day I was taken out and given a bath, which I didn't like very much and my coat was trimmed. I was told somebody had seen my picture in the newspaper in the "Adopt a Pet" pages and they were going to come and fetch me and give me a home.

The next day Pam arrived and came to look at me. The other dogs were barking and crying "take ME, take ME" and I was so sure she wouldn't want me that I just sat there and watched her through my eyebrows. She laughed and said "my, she's a funny looking little dog", but I was put on a lead and led away with her to the office. I was really scared now. What was going to happen? She put me in her bakkie which smelt of other dogs. There was a nice mattress and doggy things in the back but I was very nervous. We then seemed to drive for ages and the road was very windy and steep, especially when we went over Ou Kaapse Weg. Pam was talking to me through the window between the cab and the back, but I was too busy throwing up and weeing (and other things even smellier) to say anything. I didn't realize then that I would get to know all the mountains we passed so well I'd learn every hollow rock where I'm likely to find water in summer and every outcrop where dassies are likely to be.

When we got to Pam's home I heard dogs barking but their barks were different; friendly, confident and inquisitive. Pam had to clean me up before I could go into the house and I sat and watched her as she put a hose into the back of the bakkie and cleaned that too. I was afraid she'd be cross with me, but she just told me I was a poor wee thing and I must come and meet my new family. They were very friendly and came out wagging their tails. There was Ruksha who was obviously the head of the family. She was big and gentle. Like me she was also rescued, but she didn't remember much about it as she was still a puppy when she joined Pam's family. Her mother was a Rottweiler but nobody knows what her father was and her mum didn't tell. 'Tavish the Jack Russell was keen to play as soon as he'd given me a good sniff. He brought me his ball and tried to get me to chase him but I was not going to let my new human out of my sight. He is about the same age as me and we now play with each other a lot and sometimes sleep together too, especially when we have got into trouble for chasing the cats.

The other member of the family back then was a very old Calico cat called Katie and I wanted to chase her. She was 16 and spent most of the time on top of the tumble drier in the kitchen. This was the first time I heard Pam talk sternly. She sat me down and told me I Must Not Chase The Cat! I am all terrier at heart and I found this very difficult, but I wanted to please Pam so I tried really hard not to chase the cat (when Pam was around).

It was a cold, wet June 2005 when I went to live with Pam. That first evening was so wonderful! Indoors in a doggy bed in front of a fire in the lounge with Pam brushing my coat and stroking me. Later she took all the doggy beds and put them on the floor at the foot of her bed, but I wanted to sleep as close to her as I could, so she put a little bed right next to her where she could put her hand on me in the night. In the morning I couldn't see 'Tavish and I learnt that he gets under the duvet once Pam is asleep and sleeps with his head on her ankles. As soon as it got light, Ruksha jumped on the bed to wake Pam up and have a cuddle. When Pam got out of bed, both Ruksha and 'Tavish got all excited. Clearly something special was about to happen. We all had harnesses put on and this made the other two so excited that I started barking too, but then the door to the garage opened and I saw The Bakkie. Oh no!

Ruksha and 'Tavish couldn't wait for the tailgate to be lowered so they could jump in, but I had a big dilemma. I didn't want to be left behind, but I didn't want to go in the bakkie. Eventually Pam picked me up and put me in. When we got to Newlands Forest, I had drooled so much that I was wet through and even the other two were wet with my drool. I felt a bit wobbly when I got out of the car but I quickly perked up with all the smells and the excitement from Ruksha and 'Tavish. Some other dogs came over and greeted me. There was tiny Morag a quaint little Schnauzer (who I later learnt was almost family as she often comes to stay when her "mum" Pippa is away); Benji Basenji who can't bark at all but has a most impressive howl; and Rosie and Timmy the wire-haired terriers. We had a wonderful walk together. There were streams and squirrels and porcupine poo and steep hills and slippery pine-needle covered slopes and rich grass to roll in and pine cones to chase and lots of lovely muddy puddles. We walked for two hours and I relaxed and enjoyed being part of a pack until .... "Oh Dear, The Bakkie again!"

I really hated that bakkie but I love my walks. Even though we walk on the mountain every single day, I never got used to that bakkie. Pam had to take out the nice foam dog mattress and put newspaper all over the back of the bakkie. It would be soaked by the time we got to the forest, so she'd have to gather it all up and put fresh newspaper down. Sometimes the wind would be blowing so strongly she'd get wet slobbery newspaper in her face. She had quite a bit to say when that happened but I didn't care because by then I was out of the bakkie and rolling myself clean in the pine needles.

Because I hated the bakkie so, Pam decided not to take me in it except for walks and visits to the vet. With all the walking in the wild wet woods, it is not practical for me to have my soft silky fur long like a Tibetan Terrier, so Pam decided to have me groomed at home by Lynda of Dogzathome. In spite of only going in the bakkie for the joy of walking, I never got used to it. Then one day, Pam got a new bakkie ... and I stopped slobbering.

I love this new bakkie. If Pam leaves the garage door open and the tailgate down, I will sit in it for ages on the nice soft mattress waiting to go for a ride whilst 'Tavish nags Pam to get a move on. It is also a small white 1600 bakkie with canopy and rubberised load area - but it is not That Bakkie.

After a couple of years dear old Katie-cat died and we didn't have any cats for a while. Then nearly three years ago two tiny kittens arrived to stay. Misty, who turned out to be a boy, has long grey fur and white paws and his brother has short ginger fur. For the first few days they were behind a little barrier in the en-suite bathroom. I would lie all day with my nose at the barrier watching them. After three days Misty squeezed though the barrier and came right up to me and patted me on the nose. Pam was watching me so I didn't do anything, except maybe drool a little bit. We are good friends now and sometimes we even share a doggy bed together. I never chase them, in the house.

Sadly Ruksha died last September. She was 13. We'd been for our usual lovely walk to the contour path and that day she'd even wanted to join us all chasing dassies but Pam wouldn't let her. We all miss Ruksha a lot and now I've taken over her role of sleeping in the doggy bed on the floor at the foot of Pam's bed, watching over the house. I also jump on Pam's bed as soon as it is beginning to get light to wake her up and have a cuddle.

I'm such a happy dog these days that the nightmare of Rondebosch Common is long forgotten. Pam has a small guest house and designs websites from home, so she is with me most of the time and I have 'Tavish and the cats to play with when she is out. We go for long walks with at least one or two (and sometimes all 7) of our doggy friends every day, except on really bad days in mid-winter when the weather is so awful that even we don't want to go out. We often have visitors downstairs who are here on holiday or business, so 'Tavish and I run round the side of the house to greet them whenever they come in and we keep them company if Pam is out for the evening. You never know, they might just have some biltong. Occasionally we have visitors who are sad because they have someone in the big hospital nearby. I go and sit with them quietly and let them cuddle me and they tell me that I am very comforting.

I'm so happy, I make sure Pam knows it by being as loving and lovable as only a grateful rescue dog can be.

Babu receives the trophy and some advice from Shenzi, last year's winner.

A second version of the draft animal bylaw for the City of Cape Town which contains provisions relating to domestic dogs & cats has been released. The period for public comment is now over, but you can read the FDW comment that was sent in to council, at the end the following summary of the bylaw...

Summary of items of particular interest to dog owners:

The city has kept a residual power to determine the number of dogs that may be kept on any premises. In the absence of any such determination the number of dogs over six months that may be kept

  • in a dwelling unit, ie roughly speaking a flat, is two;
  • in a dwelling house is three;
  • in a large dwelling house, ie on an erf more than 600 sq metres, is four;
  • on an agricultural property, ie land zoned for agricultural uses, is six;
  • any other type of premises, eg could include a caravan, boat or tent or other structure, up to three.

Permits to keep more than the prescribed number can be applied for. First requirement is a written report from an authorised official who has inspected the premises. Permits are attached to a particular person and particular premises and may not be transferred. For the first six months after promulgation of the bylaw, applications to keep a greater than allowable number of dogs will be granted up to a maximum of six on any premises subject to the owner not replacing any dog that dies or is disposed of.

Registration of dogs (ie licensing). This is a new introduction. Must be done within three months of dog's birth or within 30 days of acquisition. The amount of the fee will be determined and there may be a reduced fee for sterilized dogs.
There will be a nine month transitional period for registration.

Prohibitions:

  • No bitches on heat in public places.
  • Urging or failing to prevent a dog from attacking or worrying etc any person or animal except in defence of person or property.
  • Keeping a dog if faeces not regularly removed and disposed of.
  • Keeping a dog which barks more than six minutes in any hour or more than three minutes in any half hour. NEW.
  • Keeping a dog which causes a disturbance or nuisance in the neighbourhood by barking, yelping, whining, or charging vehicles, animals, persons etc outside its own premises.
  • Generally causes a disturbance to local inhabitants.

The following will come into force six months after promulgation of the bylaw -

  • Allowing a dog with an infectious disease in a public place.
  • Vicious dogs must be muzzled and under control.
  • May not trespass on private property or be a hazard to traffic.
  • May not be a potential source of danger to persons outside the premises.
  • Must be leashed in public places except areas designated by the council as free-running areas.
  • All dogs (ie of any age!!) must be microchipped or carry name, address, phone no or reference to an animal welfare organisation.

Also provisions prohibiting harassing dogs, fireworks, organised dog fighting.

Dog pounds: Includes provision for sale or destruction after 10 days.

Confinement: Premises where dogs are kept must be adequately fenced unless dogs confined in some other manner.

Council employees: Dogs must not be a source of danger to council employees entering to carry out their duties. A notice to the effect that a dog is kept on premises must be adequately displayed.

Removal of excrement: Except for dogs assisting blind persons - must be removed, placed in a container and disposed of in a receptacle provided for disposal of litter or refuse. Persons walking dogs in a public place must carry sufficient plastic or paper bags.

Sterilisation: may be undertaken by an authorised official who deems it necessary. Dogs (includes bitches) must be sterilised unless kept in permitted kennels or registered with certain dog breeders associations. Does not include dogs owned prior to date of promulgation of the bylaw.

Contraventions of the bylaw. Penalties are a fine or imprisonment for not more than two years. Ordering the destruction of the animal concerned.

Friends of the Dog Walkers have sent our comments to the council, see below
best regards
Geraldine


Attention Senior Inspector Peter Lottering
City of Cape Town


Animal Bylaw. Second draft. 2009
Comments from Friends of the Dog Walkers

Broadly speaking we feel that some provisions of this proposed bylaw particularise too much by imposing too many detailed restrictions. It should be confined to legitimate and socially desirable aims of preventing and penalising cruelty to animals together with matters relating to broad principles of public health and nuisance to surrounding neighbours.

It is disappointing that a number of concerns raised by ourselves over the first draft have not been addressed in this second version.

Section 2.
Restrictions on number of dogs and licnesing.

We do not comment on the detailed restrictions on the number of dogs per premises which appear generous. Nevertheless the council is straying from its essential objective which should relate directly to matters of health and public nuisance. Restrictions on numbers are by nature arbitrary and the municipality would do better to focus on using its powers to clamp down on the real individual offenders.

With regard to the introduction of licensing, how will the municipality enforce this?

Section 5.
Subsection (e). Prohibition on keeping any dog which barks for more than 6 minutes in any hour or more than 3 minutes in any half hour.
This proposal certainly should be removed entirely. As drafted, a barking incident of either duration need only happen once to empower the municipality not only to penalise the owner with a fine but confiscate the dog. Have the drafters of this bylaw gone barking mad?? No account is taken for the reason for the dog's barking. It might be triggered by an intruder or a stranger at the door or the arrival of security personnel when an alarm goes off, or even the arrival of baboons. It takes no account of the preponderance of violent crime in the city. One of the best ways to discourage opportunistic criminals is to make it clear that there is a dog on the premises which barks to warn to its owners.

At the initial meeting of the working group to discuss the first draft animal bylaw the late Ivan Toms wisely suggested that provisions for the control of nuisance-related behaviour of dogs should be left to the general laws governing nuisance. In fact this section, which by subsection (f) "prohibits the keeping of any dog which by barking, yelping, howling or whining… causes a disturbance to the inhabitants of the neighbourhood" adequately covers the problem of excessive barking.

Moreover, noise disturbance by dogs, or for that matter from any source, depends to some extent on the level of tolerance of the neighbours and account should be taken of the general noise level of the area. Our suburbs are noisy places, there is amplified sound from radios and TV, garden machinery, children in swimming pools, etc. Why pick on noise from barking dogs in isolation? Excessive barking should certainly be dealt with and it could even require intervention from anti-cruelty organisations.

Setting a specific time limit on the barking is a clumsy attempt to introduce an objective measure and offers an opportunity to the vindictive or neurotic neighbour. There ought to be a requirement that a complaint be lodged by at least two neighbouring householders in place of a specified period of barking where subsection (f) is contravened.

Section 5(g)(vi) …" the council may designate public places…..as free running..areas..."
There should be an obligation on the part of the council to designate sufficient free running areas in all neighbourhoods. There are some areas within the municipal borders where there is nowhere at all where a dog may be allowed to run free.

Section 7. Seizure, impounding and destruction of dogs.
As there is a requirement for microchipping or other identification to be carried on dogs (section 5(h)) why is there no obligation on the pound master to contact the owner? If a dog carrying some type of identity is destroyed or disposed of without attempting to contact the owner the poundmaster should be liable for the value of the dog.

We consider that the time period of not less than ten days for disposal or destruction of a dog is too short. The dog may have been stolen and subsequently escaped or the owner might be away and have left the dog in the care of a domestic or other carer.

Section 9. Fencing of property.
We are concerned that should this requirement be universally enforced it will lead to the incidence of dogs being permanently tied up. Does this not constitute cruelty? Is it illegal? Does the city envisage a pogram of loose running dogs in townships and informal areas?

Section 12. Removal of excrement.
The city should take responsibility for providing receptacles. There are many suburban streets where dogs are regularly walked but there are no receptacles whatever. Please do not hope that many dog owners will carry around a bag of excrement until they return home, to leave it in their own bin encouraging flies for up to a week. We suggest the drafters of this bylaw carry out an experiment and take two dogs out on a lead while toting around some bags of faeces. How are you going to enforce these measures when the metro police are already unable to prevent all the other illegal activities taking place daily in this city? We are mindful of some very ugly incidents highlighted by the media when dog owners have been roughly handled by metro police personnel for an offence which in the scale of things should rate as minor in contrast to the piles of builders' refuse littering the sidewalks, general litter and illegal vendors around robots which the council seems unable to control.

Our group, Friends of the Dog Walkers, have negotiated with Table Mountain National Park on all dog-related matters for over five years. The parties have agreed on a rule whereby certain areas are designated as areas where all dog faeces must be removed and placed in the bins that are provided. In those parts of the Park where dogs run free (which is most of the Park area) the dog handlers must make sure that the dogs do not defecate on the paths, they may do it in the bushes.

We suggest an appropriate solution for the city should be to follow this solution and make rules to ensure that no faeces whatever be left on the ground in public parks and certain designated areas such as, obviously, SeaPoint beachfront, beaches that can be accessed to service the bins, etc. Also, no faeces may be left on hard or gravelled pavements or any areas with mown grass. Elsewhere, if there are shrubs, bushes, groundcover etc, let the dogs be allowed to go in there where their faeces will quickly biodegrade in the air instead of the pathogens being preserved in the protection of the plastic. The council should consider the environmental effect of putting all the dog faeces in Cape Town, a biodegradable substance, in plastic bags and carting off to dumpsites. Surely the idea is to get rid of plastic and not to create more of it.

On the subject of receptacles, we suggest the city should take more responsibility and undergo more research on suitable containers that ideally should be dedicated for the purpose and supply the more expensive bio-degradable bags. Also, there is no point in providing bins unless they are frequently cleaned out. At least twice a week especially in summer is essential. Does the city have the capacity for this? We enclose some interesting examples of bins and services offered in other countries which demonstrate how backward are the facilities offered in Cape Town. The municipality should consider contracting out to a service provider to offer and service suitable dedicated bins. Please examine carefully these advertisements taken from internet sites that we have provided with this comment and take note that legislation in the European Union classifies dog faeces as toxic waste which must be separately disposed of.

13. Sterilisation.
We made this point before with the first draft of the bylaw and we make it again. Sterilisation is socially desirable and organisations such as SASHA should be given all the support possible including financial support. But to introduce forced sterilisation of, in effect, dogs that are not pedigreed is not even neo-facist. Pedigree dogs are beautiful and highly valued but they are the property of the well-to-do and regretfully years of inbreeding by irresponsible breeders has led to the development of particular breeds that are genetically inclined to certain defects and diseases. The cross-breeds make excellent and practical pets for people who do not want to show their dogs and cannot afford huge veterinary bills.

Dog Breeding.
We have been advised that there is an increasing tendency for puppies to be sold at too early an age and this leads to behavioural problems in later life as well as affecting the health of the pups. Certainly four or five weeks old is too early and we suggest that council take advice and impose a minimum age for the separation of puppies from their mother.

Please alter the definition of "kennels" under (b) which includes "dogs ..bred for commercial purposes" so as to make clear that where dogs are kept as household pets and their puppies are sold the owners are not bound by the structural requirements relating to kennels in section 27.

Appended:

  • Pictures and advertisements from other countries of receptacles for dog faeces in public places provided by municipalities.
  • Pamphlet on Walking with Dogs in the Table Mountain National Park produced by TMNP.
From Friends of the Dog Walkers: Geraldine Goncalves, Val Bennett, Roy Joynt, Carol de Gendt, Christopher Walker, Taryn Blyth, Neil van der Spuy

19 Amhurst Avenue, Newlands 7700.   Phone 021 6717451



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