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The Royal Canin SPCA Mutt of the Year 2010
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Report-back, May 2010
Where are the free running areas? | |
emails received recently from the Table Mountain Safety Action Group Thursday 7 July Sunday 20 June 2010 Sunday (4 July) - 17:50. Friday 18 June 2010 29 May May 2010 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.
The draft animal bylaw. 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. 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.
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.
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. 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:
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.
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| 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. |
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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
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. Prohibitions:
The following will come into force six months after promulgation of the bylaw -
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
Attention Senior Inspector Peter Lottering
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.
Section 5.
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..." Section 7. Seizure, impounding and destruction of dogs. 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. Section 12. Removal of excrement. 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. Dog Breeding. 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:
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