GABORONE CITY COUNCIL (DOGS) BYE-LAWS
(under regulations 34 and 35)
(5th April, 1968)
ARRANGEMENT OF BYE-LAWS
BYE-LAW
1. Citation
2. Interpretation
3. Yapping, etc., of dogs and bitches in season
4. Troublesome, dangerous or infected dogs
5. Detention and destruction of abandoned or diseased dogs
6. Licensing of dogs
7. Penalties
S.I. 24, 1968,
S.I. 57, 1997.
These Bye-laws may be cited as the Gaborone City Council (Dogs) Bye-laws*.
*>Originally made under the Township Act now repealed, these regulations have been continued under s 94(2) of the Local Government Act, 2013.
In these Bye-laws, unless the context otherwise requires
“City Clerk” means the City Clerk of Gaborone;
“council” means the City Council of Gaborone;
“dog” includes a bitch;
“public place” includes any road, street, thoroughfare, bridge, foot pavement, open space or park and any enclosed space vested in the council;
“rabies certificate” is a certificate signed by a veterinary surgeon within a period of three years prior to its production stating that the dog (being a dog which was six months or more in age at the time of vaccination) has been vaccinated for rabies.
3. Yapping, etc., of dogs and bitches in season
(1) No person shall permit the continual yapping, whining or barking of dogs so as to disturb the comfort of any inhabitants of the council area.
(2) No person shall allow any bitch to be at large at such times as she is on heat or in season.
4. Troublesome, dangerous or infected dogs
(1) No person shall allow any troublesome, ferocious or dangerous dog, or any dog which is suffering from a contagious or infectious disease, to be at large off the premises on which such animal is normally kept.
(2) Any person who keeps any dog of the nature described in sub-bye-law (1) shall display at the principal entrance of the property where the dog is kept a clearly legible sign, reading “BEWARE OF THE DOG” or “TSHABA NTSA”.
5. Detention and destruction of abandoned or diseased dogs
(1) A servant of the council authorised thereto by the City Clerk may detain and remove to kennels or other premises owned by the council any dog which is at large in a public place.
(2) Where any dog detained under the provisions of paragraph (1) is not claimed by or on behalf of its owner within a period of two weeks of such detention, it shall be deemed to be abandoned and, in such event the council may destroy, or otherwise dispose of such dog:
Provided that the City Clerk may authorise the destruction of a dog prior to the expiration of the aforesaid period of two weeks where he has reason to believe it is suffering from an infectious or contagious disease of a serious nature and that the destruction of the dog is necessary for the purpose of controlling the spread of such disease.
(3) The owner of any dog detained under the provisions of this bye-law may reclaim such dog, so long as it remains in the custody of the council, on payment of a fee of 20 thebe for each day during which it has been so detained.
(1) No person shall keep a dog over the age of six months unless it is licensed in terms of this bye-law.
(2) A dog licence shall be issued, on application and on production of a rabies certificate, by the City Clerk and shall be issued in respect of the 12 months period commencing on the 1st April in any year and terminating on the 31st March of the next succeeding year and on the payment of a fee of P6,00:
Provided that the amount payable shall be half the amount prescribed in this sub-bye-law where a dog is brought into the area, or attains the age of six months on or after the 1st October, in any year.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-bye-law (1)
(a) a dog licence issued in respect of the preceding calendar year shall be deemed to authorise the keeping of the dog to which the licence relates during the month of April of the succeeding year;
(b) a dog brought into the council area during the course of a calendar year shall be licensed within a period of four weeks from the date when it was so brought in;
(c) a dog shall be licensed within four weeks of it attaining the age of six months.
(4) A licence issued under the provisions of this bye-law shall be in the form of a metal or plastic badge.
(5) No person shall permit any dog which is required to be licensed under the provisions of this bye-law to be at large unless a current licence issued under the provisions of this bye-law is affixed to it by means of a dog collar.
(6) Where a dog licence issued under the provisions of this bye-law has been lost, the City Clerk may issue a duplicate licence on payment of a fee of 25 thebe.
Any person contravening the provisions of these Bye-laws shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding P15 or, in default of payment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two months.