Nairobians who own dogs may soon have to restrain their pets from engaging in sex.
The Nairobi City County Dog Control and Welfare Bill , 2015 sponsored by Kayole South representative Elizabeth Manyala, intends, among others, to prohibit the owners of bitches on heat from letting them to stray.
The Bill also proposes huge fines for owners of female dogs should their pets be caught having sex with other dogs without the knowledge of their owners.
The Bill says; “A person shall not keep or leave a bitch on heat in any place which will permit a male dog to approach it.”
The Bill further provides that, “And no keeper of a bitch shall allow a male dog to approach it unless both the keeper of the bitch and the keeper of the dog desire the approach for the purpose of breeding.”
Contravention of the law once passed next year, will attract a fine of Sh5,000 or double for a person convicted of another offence under this Bill.
Manyala says the move was prompted by the rampant cases of dog bites in Nairobi and mistreatment of the canines.
“It is becoming costly to treat rabies. We have countless cases of dog bites. The other day, they mauled a guard in the city, not forgetting the other case where a wife of a Migori County MP had to spend months in hospital after a dog bit her in Nairobi,” she said.
The Bill also provides for the licensing of the canines for Sh2,000 and that they bear identification tags that will cost owners Sh1,000.
However, the Bill is ostensibly biased against female dogs with stiffer penalties levied on owners of bitches should the pets be seized by county officials.
Manyala says this is because bitches have a tendency of ‘getting pregnant’ every time, and that many residents are unable to feed the dogs, thus letting them stray.
“Unlike male dogs, the bitches will sneak out and come back pregnant,” Manyala told The Nairobian.
While owners of male dogs will part with Sh2,000 to get back their pets from the county, owners of female dogs will pay Sh5,000 in addition to, “a certificate from a veterinarian showing that the bitch has been sprayed and a fee of Sh500 shall be paid.”
The Manyala’s Bill will give City Hall powers to kill, sell or give away the dogs if they are not claimed from their custody within days after their capture.
Similarly, if your dog barks, yelps, howls or whines for more than six minutes in an hour or more than three accumulated minutes in a half hour, you risk a heavy penalty.