Lephalale animal bylaws will be enforced

Over the past few years, Lephalale's bylaws dealing with thenumber of cats and dogs allowed per residence have fallen by the wayside. But the local SPCA and municipality are now working together to clear the streets of stray animals in town.
According to the bylaws the community is only allowed to have two cats and two dogs per property. The SPCA reports that some residents have as many as 26 animals on one premises.
The SPCA’s, Mariaan Wentzel, last week confirmed that the Lephalale branch has been inundated with homeless animals and can’t keep up with feeding these cats and dogs that simply gets ‘dumped’ at the SPCA gates.
Complaints are made regularly about animals that run free in the streets in residential areas. Dogs that bark all hours of the day and night is also considered a problem.
Wentzel says that the level of complaints is simply too many for one institution to handle.
“That is why the municipality and local SPCA are taking hands on this issue and will be working together to ‘clean up’ the town.”
In the past ow-ners who had more than the allowed number of animals had to get special permission to keep them. Once these animals died (of any causes inclu-ding old age) the owner was not allowed to replace the extra animals. So the number of animals was eventually brought in line with the official policy.
People offering services and looking after homes and pets while owners are on holiday will also have to register with the municipality as these services are viewed as a business or a way of generating income.