Municipalities launch new licensing campaign for pets
A LAW putting pressure on dog owners to license their pets has come into effect. The new dog licensing law was passed in 2002, but has taken three years to be implemented.
Municipalities around the island usually remind dog owners to renew their licences via letter. This year, a new pilot scheme introduced by the five Limassol municipalities has seen leaflets sent out to every household with water bills, explaining how to get a new licence.
All dogs must now have a microchip installed so the owner can be traced. This is injected into the dog’s neck by a vet for approximately £30. The vet will then provide the owner with a certificate, so the animal can be registered with the central dog register in Nicosia.
Once this is done, the owner becomes eligible for a dog licence, which is obtained from the owner’s local municipality, provided a certificate showing that the dog is in good health is also supplied.
The cost of a licence is £15 for a male dog and £25 for a female dog. The higher price for a female animal is to encourage keepers of female dogs to have their pets neutered. If a neutering certificate is provided, the price then comes down to £15.
However, if somebody wants to breed dogs, a special licence is required form the Veterinary Services, which is part of the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment. A £50 fee must also be paid for every litter that is born.
Herodotos Georgiou, the senior health officer for Limassol Municipality, yesterday told the Cyprus Mail that monitoring litters is “almost impossible to police”.
A licence for dogs classified as dangerous will cost £100. There are four categories of dangerous dogs in Cyprus: pit bull terrier/American pit bull, dogo argentino, fila brazileiro (Brazilian mastiff) and Japanese tosa.
People applying for the new licence must be at least 16 years of age and must put up a ‘beware of the dog’ sign outside their properties. They are also obliged to keep their dogs under control at all times.
People living in apartment blocks and multi-storey buildings must also seek permission from their body corporate to keep a dog.
According to Georgiou, the new licensing law will mean an initial increase in stray dogs seen on the streets, as people “will not want to spend the money on a new licence.” Under current law, the big municipalities send out special units to catch strays, which are then kept for 15 days, while a description is put out in the hope of tracing their owners.
If their owners cannot be found, the animals are either put down by the Veterinary Services or adopted by animal protection organisations.
On the other hand, the new law should see a reduction in the number of dogs stolen, said Georgiou. “It will be much harder for people to steal dogs, unless they can find a way of removing the microchip. Hunting dogs are traditionally stolen around November, as they are very expensive to buy.”
The Green Party in Limassol has praised the close co-operation between the five municipalities in distributing leaflets and hopes that it can be used as a good example for building a close working relationship in other towns.
