Penguang (centre), flanked by Bakrie (left) and Dr Cheong, and Ivy look at some of the provisions in the new By-Law.
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) By-Laws, 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 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.”
“Although the exemption is extended to dogs belonging to the longhouses folks,
nothing can stop us from vaccinating their dogs because if we feel there is rabies threat in these longhouses then we can ask them to get their dogs to be vaccinated,” he said.
This exemption is also given to dogs under the temporary care of Sarawak Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals or any other body recognised and approved by the minister in charge of local government, he added.
Penguang further said under this By-Law the local authority may require a dog owner to show proof that his or her dog has been vaccinated with anti-rabies vaccination or any other vaccination before any licence can be issued or renewed.
Besides that, the local authority may also require owners to have tagging on their dogs, but this is not mandatory at the moment.
He noted that if there is any change of ownership of the dog, the owner must report to the relevant local authority and a processing fee of RM10 will be charged upon ownership change.
This is to keep track of dog movements, especially at this time, he reasoned.
In addition, there is also provision under By-Law 8 that empowers the local authority to seize and impound any free-roaming dogs for 48 hours.
He said a seized dog shall only be released to the owner upon him or her paying impounding fee of RM50 per day or part thereof, and any unclaimed dog shall be put to sleep.
By-Law 4(1) provides for the licence once issued to be valid for three years, under which the licence fee for sterilised dog is RM30 and RM90 for non-sterilised dog for three years.
Unless otherwise approved by the local authority, By-Law 9 limits three dogs for each landed property or one small breed in the case of flats or apartments.
The licence fee for additional dog is RM90 (sterilized dog) and RM270 for non-sterilized dog for three years.
Penguang said the By-Law also makes it an offence for the owner to keep diseased dogs, and it also stipulates the procedures which the local authorities are required to comply with when seizing a diseased dog.
He added there is also a provision that requires dog breeders or owners of pet shops where dogs are offered for sale to obtain a licence for their business premises from the local authority.
Under the provision, the licence fee for dog breeding is RM1,000 and RM500 for a pet shop per annum.
The maximum fine for contravening this By-law is RM10,000, he added.
Ministry of Local Government and Housing permanent secretary Bakrie Zaini, head of Public Health Dr Cheong Yaw Liang and principal assistant secretary (Legal and Policy Unit, Ivy Suli Untup, were also present at the press conference.