Common by-law for all
Dog licence by-laws consolidated into one law to streamline licensing, control dog population from Dec 1
KUCHING: All the 26 dog licence by- laws in Sarawak have been consolidated into one law for the purpose of uniformity and consistency in licensing and in the manner how the dog population is controlled.
Cited as Local Authorities ( Dog Licensing and Control) ByLaws, 2018, the new by- law had been tabled and approved by the Sarawak Cabinet on Oct 18 and would come to force effective Dec 1 this year.
Assistant Minister of Local Government Datu Dr Penguang Manggil said this new By-Law is meant to cope with the current geo- environment circumstances that prevail around the people of Sarawak.
“We all know there is an outbreak of rabies in Sarawak, which leads to an urgent need to control the population of dogs, especially the stray ones. This By-Law aims to consolidate and harmonise the existing dog licence by-laws, which will be applicable throughout the state of Sarawak,” he told a press conference at Bangunan Masja here yesterday.
Penguang said the ministry had chosen to amend the By-Laws simply because they wanted to have only single By-Law for the whole state. He noted that before this, all the 26 local authorities in Sarawak had their own dog licensing by- laws, with each council imposing their own fee at different rates.
He reasoned that due to the rabies outbreak, there is an urgent need to enhance dog licensing and control by-laws. This, he noted, would enable the local authorities to have more effective control over
We all know there is an outbreak of rabies in Sarawak, which leads to an urgent need to control the population of dogs, especially the stray ones. This By-Law aims to consolidate and harmonise the existing dog licence by-laws, which will be applicable throughout the state of Sarawak.
Datu Dr Penguang Manggil, Assistant Minister of Local Government
dog population, including those that are reared for sale.
Aside from that, he added, there is also a need to update the licensing structure and to increase the penalties for any contravention of the by- laws, including compound for any offence committed by the dog owners.
“Having said that, you may be wondering whether this can be applied throughout Sarawak, but we can because in Sarawak every inch of the state is under the control of the local authorities.
“Anyway, there is an exemption to any dog belonging to Armed Forces, Police, Customs, Veterinary Services Department or any other government agencies from the operations of the this By- Law; plus any other areas that are exempted by the local authorities by notification in the gazette, which also applies to the longhouses.”
KUCHING: Sarawak Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ( SSPCA) says the law to put dogs to sleep after 48 hours of seizure from the street by any local council should be enforced only when proper microchipping is put in place.
The NGO also wanted the 26 councils throughout Sarawak to work out some arrangement with rescue groups to adopt some of the animals that are caught, with the hope of re-homing them after neutering and vaccination.
Its president Datin Dona DruryWee said it would be proper if the authorities make effort to contact the owners before the 48 hours is up.
“We hope the ( 26) councils (in Sarawak) will make efforts to contact the owners before the 48 hours is up. With microchipping, the owners contact info will be accessible to the councils. The councils must ensure that the caught animals are kept in clean premises, with fresh water and fresh food. We will work with the
We hope the (26) councils (in Sarawak) will make efforts to contact the owners before the 48 hours is up. With microchipping, the owners contact info will be accessible to the councils. The councils must ensure that the caught animals are kept in clean premises, with fresh water and fresh food. We will work with the authorities to ensure that animal welfare guidelines are adhered to when they enforce the law.
authorities to ensure that animal welfare guidelines are adhered to when they enforce the law,” Wee told The Borneo Post yesterday.
Wee said SSPCA had been asking the Ministry of Local Government and Housing to enforce microchipping as this will help owners and pets to be reunited quickly and will help the councils collect their licensing fee which they ( SSPCA) hope will be redirected to more joint neutering campaigns.
“This will also help to prevent indiscriminate abandonment of animals, as owners can be traced with the info in the microchip, and they can be fined or prosecuted according to the law,” she said.
Wee was responding to Assistant Minister of Local Government Datuk Dr Penguang Manggil’s announcement that a new By- Law would be put in place to cope with the current geo- environment circumstances that prevail around the people of Sarawak.
All the 26 dog licence by-laws in Sarawak have been consolidated into one law for purpose of uniformity and consistency in the licensing and in the manner how dog population is controlled.
Cited as Local Authorities ( Dog Licensing and Control) ByLaws, 2018, the new by- law had been tabled and approved by the Sarawak Cabinet on Oct 18 and will come to force effective Dec 1 this year.
“We all know there is an outbreak of rabies in Sarawak, which leads to an urgent need to control the population of dogs, especially the stray ones,” he said.
Penguang also announced that each household can only have three dogs effective Dec 1, 2018 and that a permit needs to be obtained for the fourth dog.
Wee argued that enforcement of having not more than three dogs in any home should take into account the size of the house as it is sometimes not practical for a small terraced house to have 10 dogs.
“We know of cases where this has caused conf licts between neighbours. Three dogs is a very manageable number per household. It is not that they won’t be allowed to have more than three dogs, they can apply for a permit and may have to pay a higher licence fee,” she said.
Datin Dona Drury-Wee, Sarawak Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) president