DearSA is calling on Cape Town residents to have their say on the City of Cape Town’s proposed Animal Keeping By-law, 2026, warning that the draft could impose sweeping new costs, permit requirements and regulatory burdens on thousands of responsible pet owners.
While measures that protect animals and communities are necessary, DearSA believes the proposed By-law goes considerably further than targeting cruelty, neglect, irresponsible breeding and genuine public nuisances.
Among its provisions, the draft would require owners to obtain a permit for every dog and cat over six months old and pay a prescribed permit fee. It would also require dogs and cats over six months to be sterilised unless their owners obtain separate permission to keep them unsterilised.
The proposed By-law would further limit the number of dogs and cats residents may keep without additional permission, introduce further permit requirements affecting rabbits, certain birds, poultry, livestock and exotic animals, and grant the City significant powers relating to the seizure, impoundment and forfeiture of animals.
“Responsible pet owners are not the root cause of animal abuse or animal neglect related issues, and the City should be very careful not to regulate them as though they are,” said Chloe Castle, Director of DearSA.
“Cape Town absolutely needs effective rules to deal with animal cruelty, neglect, dangerous animals, irresponsible breeding and genuine nuisances. But there is an important difference between sensible animal-welfare regulation and creating layers of permits, fees and bureaucracy for ordinary people who already look after their animals responsibly. Whilst irresponsible pet owners get away with disobeying the laws at hand.”
DearSA is concerned that the cumulative effect of the proposed requirements could make responsible animal ownership more expensive and administratively burdensome, while potentially drawing enforcement resources away from cases where animals genuinely require protection.
The organisation is calling for a more proportionate approach that focuses municipal resources and enforcement powers on actual harm and irresponsible conduct rather than imposing unnecessary barriers on law-abiding animal owners.
“Good regulation should solve a clearly identified problem without creating new ones,” Castle said. “The question Cape Town residents should be asking is whether every permit, fee and restriction in this draft is genuinely necessary, practical and proportionate to the problem it is intended to address.”
DearSA is urging the City to reconsider provisions that place unreasonable burdens on responsible animal owners and to ensure that any final By-law is practical, affordable, enforceable and respectful of responsible ownership.
The organisation is also encouraging Cape Town residents, whether they support, oppose or want amendments to the proposed By-law, to participate in the public consultation process and place their individual views formally on the record.
“Public participation is not a box-ticking exercise,” Castle added. “These regulations could directly affect how thousands of Capetonians care for the animals that form part of their families and households. Those residents deserve a meaningful opportunity to scrutinise the proposals and tell the City what they believe should change.”
DearSA’s campaign enables members of the public to make individual submissions on the draft and identify the provisions they support, oppose or believe require amendment.
“Responsible animal ownership should be encouraged, not buried in red tape,” Castle concluded. “We encourage every affected Cape Town resident to read the proposals, consider how they could affect them and their animals, and make their voice count before the By-law is finalised.”
About Dear SA:
Influence government policy before implementation: Dear South Africa is a legally recognised and constitutionally protected non-profit platform which enables the public to co-shape all government policies, amendments and proposals. We’ve run many successful campaigns and have amassed a considerably large active participant network of over 1 million individuals across the country and beyond.
