An ordinance seeking to regulate and control dogs and cats recently passed the Bacolod City Sangguniang Panlungsod on its second reading.

The ordinance, authored by City Councilor Wilson Gamboa, Jr., cites RA 8485, or the Animal Welfare Act of 1998, which “provides the protection and promotion of all animals in the country by supervising and regulating the establishment and operations of all facilities utilized for breeding, maintaining, keeping, treating or training of all animals either as object of trade or as household pets.”

The policy also seeks to eliminate zoonotic diseases, or diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans.

Under the ordinance, all cats and dogs must be vaccinated, registered with the City Veterinary Office, along with limiting the number of pets per household; reiterating an earlier ordinance also authored by Gamboa.

Penalties for violating the ordinance include a P1,000 fine on the first offense, P3,000 on the second, and P5,000 on the third. The earlier ordinance provided similar penalties accompanied with possible prison time.

Meanwhile, a P500,000 annual budget will also be required for implementing the ordinance./WDJ