Katima residents struggle with new dog tax

Some dog owners at Katima Mulilo say they do not have money to pay for the newly introduced dog tariffs.

This comes after the Katima Mulilo Town Council on Thursday announced that it started with a dog registration and tariff enforcement programme.

Residents are required to register their dogs and pay a fee of N$20 per male dog and N$35 per female dog.
The due date for the registration is 30 April.

Town council spokesperson Chrispin Muyoba says the programme aims to promote responsible pet ownership, as well as to improve public safety.
He adds that the initiative will further strengthen residents’ compliance to the town council’s regulations regarding dog registration.

“Dogs that are not registered by the deadline will not be eligible for vaccination services that will commence in May.

Therefore, residents are urged to comply within the stipulated period to avoid inconvenience,” he states.

He explains that the high tariff rates for female dogs are mostly related to their reproductive ability, which increases the dog population.

Local resident Brian Simasiku told The Namibian yesterday that he will not be able to register his dogs this month because he did not budget for it.

Simasiku said this is because one of his dogs gave birth to seven puppies last month.

“I am already feeding my dog more than usual because she is breastfeeding the puppies, and now I have to pay tax for them.

The puppies are four males and three females, plus their mother and another male dog. It’s N$240 for all of them.
“The town council must extend the registration period,” he said.

Another dog owner, Harriet Mbanga yesterday said she too does not have N$105 to register her three female dogs. She added that it is unfair for her to pay a higher tariff for her dogs because of their gender. “A N$15 difference is too steep.

They were supposed to say N$25 for female dogs,” she said.

Meanwhile, resident Ben Siboli says he will not register his five dogs because he cannot afford to due to unemployment.

“I can barely buy maize to feed them every day. Where will I get money to register them? They have been surviving without being vaccinated, so it will not matter really,” he says.

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