Solwezi Council Raises K7,000 From ‘Dog Tax’

THE Solwezi Municipal Council has raised K7,370 from the dog registration exercise in the first half of this year.
Council public relations officer Thandiwe Tembo said the local authority is, however concerned that only about 70 dogs have been registered from a population of about 10,000 dogs in the district.
Ms Tembo said the council is worried with the poor response it has received from dog owners this year as many of them have shunned the registration.
“From this number, it is very worrying to us as a local authority because we feel that very few dogs have been vaccinated against rabies in the district,” she said in an interview.
She said the council was compelled to start killing stray and unregistered pets due to the poor response from pet owners.
The municipality has been receiving numerous complaints from members of the public on stray dogs that are moving around the townships.
Ms Tembo urged all dog owners to ensure that their pets are vaccinated against rabies by the Veterinary Department to make them eligible for registration.
Last week, the Solwezi Municipal Council announced that it has started killing all unregistered and stray dogs in the district because of the increased cases of dog bites and unattended pets posing a nuisance to the public.