Overhaul of dog ownership laws underway

[memory man]

A wide-ranging bill tabled to parliament has set out to totally overhaul regulations for owning a dog, it emerged on Friday. A €300 fine for not picking up dog poop in public areas, a €200 fine for having a dog without a licence, and a €1,000 fine for owning a dog deemed belonging to a dangerous breed – these are just a few of the proposed provisions.

Selling or giving away a dog without registering the transfer incurs a €100 fine, while not registering the dog’s death within seven days also leads to a €100 fine. The lowest proposed fine is €50, which will be incurred if the dog owner does not put a sign outside their residence stating that there is a dog on the premises – it must include a picture.

The stated aim is to improve animal welfare and public safety, following long-standing reports of wide-spread animal abuse – as well as violent attacks against members of the public.
Under the bill, tabled to parliament on Thursday, dog owners will face a fine of €200 for keeping a dog in conditions that are dangerous to public health and a €200 fine if measures are not taken to ensure that the dog cannot escape. A €300 fine has been proposed for allowing the dog to wander freely in public areas and not on a leash.

Dinos Ayiomamitis, spokesperson for Cyprus Voice for Animals (CVA), welcomed the development and said that the basic provision is to understand that animals are living beings that are a part of a household.
“Some people may buy their children a dog as if it’s a toy, who once tired of it simply abandon it as if it’s last year’s Christmas toy – but dogs are not toys, they have feelings, they can be in pain, they feel love and fear; they feel whatever we feel,” he told Sigma.

Elsewhere, the bill sets out for an annual fee for a dog licence, set at €5 for a sterilised dog and €10-30 for a non-neutered dog – left to the discretion of the local authorities, as reported by Politis.
It also stated that there will be fines of €100 if the dog does not have a collar, while owners will be slapped with a further €100 fine is the collar does not bear the owner’s contact details and the dog’s registration number.

The harshest fines are those linked to breeds deemed dangerous (such as pit bull terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, and Fila Brazileiro).
Ownership, importation or selling of such breeds without declaring such activities to the authorities incurs a €1,000 fine, while Politis reported that the overall ownership, breeding and sale of such dogs incurs a €1,000 fine.

There will be a €2,000 fine for those who walk a dangerous dog without a lead or muzzle.
Those charged with enforcing the regulations will be the municipalities and community councils, therefore the local authorities.

Animal rights activists, however, have long complained that current legislation is feebly enforced which leads to the perpetuation of the reported abuses.
The bill was tabled just a month after an eight-year-old boy was intubated and required surgery after being attacked by dogs.

At the scene, Limassol police identified a rottweiler wandering freely near some crude cages in a field.

https://cyprus-mail.com/2022/10/01/over ... -underway/

[trevnhil]

I have read the article, in detail, more than once.. I have to say that I don't think it will make much difference. Some owners just do not seem to abide by the present rules and laws..
I really feel that the average dog owner here in Cyprus will take little interest in abiding by the new rules.
Can you really see this rule being adhered to ? "The lowest proposed fine is €50, which will be incurred if the dog owner does not put a sign outside their residence stating that there is a dog on the premises – it must include a picture."

[Lincoln]

I just hope that the local councils do take the proper action and enforce the laws. We find dog turds all over the footpaths as the owners cannot be bothered to clean up after there dogs.

[clive of payia]

It's uncontrolled, repeat uncontrolled barking that's the issue for most people. It's so bad in some areas that many private villas and hotel owners have lost repeat summer lettings because of it. Some have health issues through not getting a good night's sleep. I always advise prospective buyers to visit their intended property purchase at night to judge the cacophony that sometimes goes on when owners go out for the day or a lovely meal in the evening leaving dogs to howl until their return. I know the mayor is aware of the problem. I appreciate in parts of Peyia we live in a valley and noise is echoed. What's the solution? Veterinary-approved muzzles? Approach the owners politely with this suggestion and you often get met with abuse, I've had it, or "my dog doesn't bark and the door is slammed."
I retire to bed with earphones on and play my favourite music or listen to the UK radio which does help. Does the Act of Noise Abatement exist in Cyprus?

I have the final solution to the issue but I would be in for perhaps a physical attack if I even mentioned it!

[wantoosoon]

Those charged with enforcing the regulations will be the municipalities and community councils, therefore the local authorities.

In other words, the laws will be poorly enforced and fines will generally be ignored.

I'm ambivalent about dogs. Some can be a lot of fun, but ownership has externalities that many owners don't recognise or care about, from noise to mess to aggression. As more and more people get dogs, the problems get worse. These laws are a step in the right direction but I doubt they will have much effect.

[Yioula]

The problem is the “owner” not the dogs and the mentality will unfortunately not change

[WHL]

Everyone's knocking this before its even tried out, for me its a step in the right direction, getting owners to be responsible for their dogs, owning a dog comes with responsibilities, such as the healthcare of the dog, cleaning up after it etc, I suggest every council could use the money from fines, registration etc to fund an animal police force, similar to the RSPCA, who would monitor registration, barking complaints , etc .
And have the powers to fine owners for non compliance.

[wantoosoon]

Everyone's knocking this before its even tried out, for me its a step in the right direction, getting owners to be responsible for their dogs, owning a dog comes with responsibilities, such as the healthcare of the dog, cleaning up after it etc, I suggest every council could use the money from fines, registration etc to fund an animal police force, similar to the RSPCA, who would monitor registration, barking complaints , etc .
And have the powers to fine owners for non compliance.

The thing is that there are already laws on dog ownership that aren't enforced, such as tethering dogs, keeping them on balconies, picking up their waste, etc. There's no reason to believe that the new ones will be, especially as enforcement is being left to councils. There's been a special animal police unit since last year, but I think their numbers are quite small.

[Chaddy]

Everyone's knocking this before its even tried out, for me its a step in the right direction, getting owners to be responsible for their dogs, owning a dog comes with responsibilities, such as the healthcare of the dog, cleaning up after it etc, I suggest every council could use the money from fines, registration etc to fund an animal police force, similar to the RSPCA, who would monitor registration, barking complaints , etc .
And have the powers to fine owners for non compliance.

Sorry WHL,,these laws HAVE been " tried out " nowts changed.No big deal

[trevnhil]

I think that you will find that there are a lot of new rules in there. When in the past have you had to have a picture of your dog at the entrance to your house? And when have you had to have the dog license number on a disk on the dog's collar ?

[cyprusmax47]

Perhaps if everybody (locals also) is checked if they paid p.e. their yearly dog license, we would have less dogs barking and dogs in better conditions than at present. It would not be so complicated, even for only one inspector per Municipality. Many times dogs gets started from other dogs barking, not only from earth tremors....

Max