For those not in the know, if you don’t register your pets (cats and dogs primarily) you run the risk of being fined R300 or having them confiscated. Here are the maximum allowed pets:
Restrictions on number of dogs and cats per dwelling type:
Dwelling house: three dogs and/or four cats
Dwelling unit: two dogs and/or four cats
Large dwelling: four dogs and/or four cats
Agricultural property: six dogs and/or six cats
You can find the info here:
https://www.capetown.gov.za/en/CampAndProg/Documents/Animal_Info_sheet.pdf
On the registration form, you need to provide all your contact details, ID number, ERF number, Municipal Account number and what they call your “Business Partner number” (what on earth is that!) then the details of all your pets.
Here is the registration form:
https://www.capetown.gov.za/en/CampAndProg/Pages/Applforregandorappltohavemoreanimals.aspx
So I have a few questions about this enforced registration of pets.
First of all, in an email I received from friends it says the following:
“The City of Cape Town would like to remind all pet owners to apply for any additional pets they might have (in excess of the prescribed maximum number per property) as set in the City’s Animal Bylaw 2010 before the 31 July 2012 deadline. There is no charge involved.”
So now, with the threat of being fined or your beloved pets confiscated, the above seems to read that if I live in a house and have LESS than 4 cats I do not need to register them. What are the chances of me NOT registering my THREE cats and being fined at a later stage? We are after all, talking about the Municipality here.
Secondly, I would like to know how “safe” my information is. Will it be sold or distributed to other institutions? If so, how secure will they keep my data? Apparently Home Affairs is sharing South Africans identification details with banks (without my permission) so what are the odds my personal information won’t be given to some business further on down the line?
Can I issue the Municipality with a R300 fine if I find out some Insurance Company got my details from their database?
Also, how does Municipality intend dealing with pet owners in poor areas? It would be easy to find someone like myself who is a registered tax payer, but how would you fine someone in an informal settlement?
Lastly, how on earth will this help animal control? Getting (most likely inaccurate) statistics is not going to stop the bulk of issues concerning domestic animals – which are primarily sterilization and disease control. The bulk of taxpaying citizens sterilize their pets and take them to the Vet often, the biggest problem is in rural areas, poor areas and townships where pets aren’t taken to the Vet because they can’t afford it. What on earth is my ID number going to do to help combat those issues, let alone illegal dog fighting and illegal breeding?
Or is this another ruse to fleece hard working Joe’s like myself, create more rubbish paperwork, and keep track of who pays for the fat cats salaries?
Maybe I'm over reacting, but George Orwell’s “1984” comes to mind… I wouldn’t be surprised if someday soon humans will be forced to have RFID chips placed into their necks along with their pets.
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