Confidence is High…
The second meeting with Council was positive in many respects, but we have some way to go and much work to do. Many thanks to all those who gave their input and who made it to the meeting.
The Council legal advisers, Pieter de Klerk and JP van Niekerk, were initially very defensive but did not respond at all to the constitutional objections made. When we went through the practical consequences of the By-Laws, they became more involved and ‘Nicky’ (DD van Niekerk) was nodding his head throughout. Pieter de Klerk was a lot more resistant but nevertheless conceded, as did Peter Manganye, Director of Environmental Health, that we had made a number of valid points.
They suggested that we petition the Council in respect of the objections we have and that is the next step. We do need to get our own story straight and present a coherent, consistent document.
Their opposing arguments had very little substance in my view, but it will be useful to examine them so that we may strategise how best to deal with them:
1. The focus of these By-Laws was never Animal Welfare, but Environmental Health, and they attempted to make the original intentions a crucial factor in their defence of the By-Laws. In my view those intentions are irrelevant to the issue of the consequences that will result from their implementation, but more importantly they will not achieve those intentions, since we showed that the outcome of these By-Laws will inevitably lead to Environmental, Nuisance, Negligence and Abuse problems, not to mention Social Trauma.
2. They claimed that the Sterilisation issue was out of scope for them because it is not a Council competency. This is debatable, and looks very much like a ‘pass the buck’ scenario.
3. They claimed that the by-laws were never intended to victimise anyone, and Inspectors will be fair and take all aspects into consideration. We have our reservations, but this will hopefully be clearer when we receive more detail on the process.
It is now necessary to prepare a document that details the constitutional and legal issues, the practical consequences, and the social effects. Our legal team will address the constitutional and legal issues, I will prepare the section dealing with consequences and effects on the animals, with input from the various rescue and welfare organisations, and Bernice Hammond and Jennifer Harper will collate the social effects with input from other members of the team such as Cora and Paula.
Deputy Director van Niekerk also undertook to provide more detail in respect of the permit process, the inspection criteria, and the appeal or compliance process. Once we have these in hand, we will be in a position to dispense advice to animal owners. We should have this information by tonight, so expect another email and Blog post tomorrow or Monday latest.
The process of petitioning the Council is one in which there are two major variables: the content of the document presented, and the numbers represented by the petition. We will let you know when the petition process is set up and how you will be able to help. It will be conducted on the Internet as well as by means of fax.
We will also, in the next Blog post, explain what your best course of action is.
A Light in their Darkness,
Derek and the By-Laws Team:
David Bilchitz – Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Joburg
Bonita Meyersfeld – Associate Professor, School of Law, University of Witwatersrand
Tersia Baasden – NCat
Wendy Burrows – Wolfshaven
Jennifer Harper – Sterischeme
Julie Bezhuidenhout – Animal Behaviourist
Paula Spagnoletti – Say NO to Pet Shops
Bernice Strapp _ CHARM
Patti Baron-Lowe – ARRF
Mandy or Kim or Clair (Husky Rescue)
Cora Bailey – CLAW
Tracy Mcquarrie – Barking Mad
Tracy Forte – Wetnose
Irene or Julie or Karen (Collie Rescue)
I AGREE WITH JANEEN. THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WHO NEED TO BE EDUCATED DO NOT HAVE INTERNET ACCESS THEREFORE THE MEDIUM OF TV WOULD REACH A FAR GREATER TARGET. EDUCATION IS KEY….TRAINING IN SCHOOLS WOULD ALSO REACH THE ANIMAL OWNERS OF TOMORROW AND THROUGH THE YOUNGSTERS, TO THEIR PARENTS….THE OWNERS OF TODAY.
REGARDS
ANNA RAND
COMMITTEE MEMBER
PUG RESCUE S.A.
Thanks for all the hard work. Because not everyone is privy to internet would it not be an idea to get 50/50 and other news media involved. I worry that people who are not well informed or simple scared to object when “officials” arrive, will just hand their pets over. For that matter the “officials” could be anyone wanting that particular breed.
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