Owners of dogs that bark for more than six minutes in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, will have to part with Sh 5,000 in fines, if a proposed bill is approved.
The Nairobi County Assembly has proposed a law that seeks to eliminate noisy canines from the city estates.
“A person shall not keep any dog which barks, yelps, howls or whines for more than six accumulated minutes in an hour or more than three accumulated minutes in half an hour,” the Nairobi City County Dog Control and Welfare Bill, 2015 says.
Dogs are known to bark for extended periods when, for instance, a stranger goes into their territory or when they are hungry or even sick.
This bill however seeks to keep such dogs away from the Kenyan capital by limiting the barking-time to no more than six minutes every hour or three minutes every half-hour.
The bill goes on to state that double offenders will be fined double the penalty.
Owners of canines that charge at people, vehicles, animals and poultry outside their compounds will also face similar fines.
The proposed law as well goes ahead to authorize the country authority to seize and destroy all stray canines, including those that are unlicensed.
Dog permits are renewed yearly at a cost of Sh 2,000.
“Any dog not released or claimed from a pound within 11 days of having been received in the pound may either be sold, given away or destroyed under the supervision of a veterinary surgeon or a person authorised by the county,” the Bill adds.
Pounds are special facilities where all the dogs seized by the authorities are detained awaiting to be picked up by their owners.
The detained dogs will be released to their owners upon payment of the fine.
The bill further states that dogs must be on a leash while in public, and owners risk being fines Sh 5,000 for breaching this
