Pet registration soon a must in QC

Attention, all pet owners in Quezon City.

Under an ordinance signed recently by Mayor Herbert Bautista, all residents must have their pets, especially dogs, registered and vaccinated to help prevent rabies. Those who fail to do so face hefty fines or even imprisonment.

Ordinance 2155 series of 2012 or the “Quezon City Comprehensive Rabies Prevention and Control Ordinance,” which was signed on July 11 and will take effect next year, calls for the mass registration and vaccination of domesticated animals; the establishment of a data system for registered pets; the impounding of unregistered and unvaccinated dogs as well as the conduct of an information campaign on the prevention and control of rabies cases.

It defines “domesticated animals,” as cats and dogs and an owner as “any person keeping, harboring or having charge, care or control of a domesticated animal, including his or her representative.” Owner can also refer to a person with whom an animal remains or customarily returns to daily “for a continuous period of 10 days.”

On the other hand, breeders, whom the ordinance describes as a person who raises and breeds a special variety of dogs or cats, will have to secure a special license from the city government.

Under the new ordinance, owners must register their pets every year with the Quezon City Health Department’s Veterinary Services Division (VSD) between Jan. 1 and March 31.

They will be asked to provide information about themselves and their pet, particularly its name, breed, color, sex as well as the date it received antirabies shots. For this, the owner will be asked to present the animal’s vaccination records as issued by the local health department or a duly licensed veterinarian.

After paying a fee of P100 for each animal, the owner will be given a registration card which contains a trace number and a tag which must be attached to the pet collar whenever it is taken outside the house.

In addition to registering their pets, the owners will also be held responsible for ensuring that the animals are properly groomed, vaccinated, well-fed and sheltered.

The ordinance also requires them to prevent their pets from roaming on the streets and to put them on a leash not more than five feet long whenever they are taken for a walk. The owner, however, must clean up after their pets should they defecate in public.

They should also report any incident of biting within 24 hours, provide financial assistance to the bite victim and submit their pet for observation to the VSD or any veterinarian for rabies symptoms.

Should the animal die within the 14-day observation period, the owner must submit the cadaver for laboratory examination.

The ordinance also states that strays, unregistered and unvaccinated animals will be impounded. Those that are not claimed within three days from the city pound will be put up for adoption or “otherwise disposed of in any manner authorized by Republic Act 8485 or the Animal Welfare Act of 1998.” The owner may redeem his pet from the pound after paying a P500 fine for each day of the animal’s stay.

The ordinance further provides that failure or refusal of the owner to register or have his pet vaccinated against rabies will result in a fine of P1,000. In the event that an unvaccinated dog or cat injures a person, the owner must  pay for the vaccine for both the animal and the bite victim. Owners who refuse to have their pets observed after they bite a person face a fine of P5,000.

Even an owner who refuses to put a leash on a dog could be fined P500 for each incident. Any other violation, including breeding dogs without a license, may lead to the imposition of a fine of at least P5,000 or imprisonment not exceeding a year or both, depending on the court’s discretion.

Barangay officials are directed to submit an annual census of the pet population in their area and ensure that all dogs and cats are confined to their owner’s houses. They should also report all incidents of animal bites, go after unlicensed breeders, and ban the sale of dog meat.