Dog owners in Sri Lanka will be required to vaccinate and register their dogs annually with their respective local authorities under a new Bill aimed at eliminating rabies and regulating the country’s dog population.
The Elimination of Rabies and Registration of Dogs Bill, published as a Gazette supplement in September, seeks to introduce a new legal framework covering rabies vaccination, dog registration, population control and the commercial breeding of dogs. It would also repeal the existing Rabies Ordinance and Dog Registration Ordinance.
Under the proposed law, every local authority will be responsible for ensuring that dogs within its administrative area are vaccinated against rabies and registered annually. Owners or persons responsible for dogs over six weeks old will also have a duty to ensure their dogs are vaccinated and registered.
Following vaccination, owners will be required to register their dogs with the relevant local authority after paying a prescribed fee. The local authority will then issue a registration number and certificate.
Owners who fail to produce valid vaccination or registration certificates when requested by an authorised officer will initially be given 14 days to comply. An additional 14 days may be granted where there is an acceptable reason. Failure to comply within the permitted period could result in a Rs. 2,000 penalty in addition to the registration fee.
The Bill also requires local authorities to sterilise or castrate stray dogs. After recovery, the animals are required to be released back to the same location from which they were captured.
Commercial dog breeding centres would meanwhile require licences from local authorities and would be subject to inspections and animal-care requirements. Operating in violation of these provisions could result in a fine of up to Rs. 10,000, imprisonment for up to two months, or both.
The proposed law also makes abandoning a dog in a public place an offence punishable by a fine of up to Rs. 10,000, imprisonment for up to three months, or both. Similar penalties are proposed for certain offences involving dogs infected or suspected of being infected with rabies.
Dog owners would also be legally liable for damages and injuries caused when their dogs attack a person or another animal.
The Bill further provides for the establishment of national and regional rabies elimination advisory committees and proposes a nationwide dog census once every five years.
The legislation has been published as a Bill and will require passage by Parliament before becoming law. (Newswire)
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