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The Mother City is a place of dog walkers, cat people, bird enthusiasts, horse lovers and the occasional resident whose backyard contains chickens named “Walter” or “Sally.”
Naturally, all those pets require rules.
The City of Cape Town is proposing amendments to its Animal Keeping By-law, bringing a raft of new and updated regulations covering everything from dangerous dogs and stray animals to working horses, glue traps and wild animals in circuses.
Here are seven proposed changes Cape Town’s animal-loving residents should know about.
#1. Your dog can’t freelance in public
Cape Town, we have a dog problem. Or, more accurately, a dog-control problem.
During the last financial year, the City’s Animal Control Unit received 9,499 calls, including 4,431 reports about stray dogs, 2,839 about dangerous or vicious dogs and 107 involving dogs off-leash.
The proposed amendments aim to bring greater clarity to the rules governing animals in public spaces, including requirements to keep dogs under control. So yes, your pooch may consider itself the mayor of the park. Legally, however, it still needs to behave.
#2. Stray pets will have less time in the shelter
Nobody wants to imagine their missing pet sitting in a shelter. The proposed amendments would shorten the window for reclaiming stray animals.
The shelter period would be reduced from 10 to seven days for small animals, while the period for large animals would drop from 30 to 21 days.
For pet owners, that’s a good argument for making sure your animal is identifiable, microchipped where appropriate and wearing up-to-date contact details. Because “I thought he was just exploring” isn’t a retrieval strategy.
#3. Dangerous animals get clearer rules
The proposed amendments provide more clarity around the keeping of dangerous animals. That includes clearer rules on permits and responsibilities of owners.
The basic principle is straightforward: if your animal has the potential to cause serious harm, owning it comes with considerably more responsibility than buying a cute collar and hoping for the best.
#4. Working animals get a break, literally
Working animals, including security dogs and cart horses, would receive stronger protections.
They would not be allowed to work when temperatures exceed 30°C and would need a rest break at least every hour, with access to drinking water. Nobody, animal, human or otherwise, should be expected to clock in for a shift and then melt.
#5. Glue traps would be out
The proposed by-law would prohibit the use and sale of adhesive or glue traps and other adhesive trapping devices. It would also prohibit hunting with animals.
The amendments further seek to protect wild animals by prohibiting people from interfering with, harming, harassing or disturbing them. So if your pest-control strategy currently involves something sticky and unpleasant, it may be time to rethink.
#6. Circus animals? Not in this city
Well, it’s about time the City prohibits the use of wild and exotic animals in circuses.
The broader suggested changes also update standards for keeping livestock, poultry, birds, rabbits, as well as bees.
In other words, Cape Town’s animal rulebook isn’t stopping at Labrador number one. It covers the full neighbourhood menagerie.
#7. Enforcement Is Getting Serious
Perhaps one of the biggest proposed changes is giving law enforcement officers the power to seize animals kept in contravention of the by-law.
The amendments would also establish clearer duties for animal inspectors and introduce a mediation mechanism for nuisance-animal disputes. Currently, removing an animal can be a lengthy process when officials have limited powers to intervene.
The proposed changes are designed to give the City more room to act, while making the rules clearer for residents.
What does this mean for pet owners?
Keep your fur babies properly controlled. Follow vaccination and quarantine requirements. Make sure pets can be identified. Understand the rules around dangerous or nuisance animals.
“The amendments aim to extend our reach and strengthen our enforcement. By doing so, we are creating a better life for the many animals in the city,” said Alderman JP Smith, Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security.
Comments on the proposed by-laws can be submitted via the following channels:
- Email: Animal.bylaw@capetown.gov.za
- Online: Via the Add a comment Button at Comment on the City’s draft Animal Keeping By-law
- Written submission: Llewellyn Grove, Law Enforcement Department, City of Cape Town, 1st Floor, Omniforum Building, 94 Van Riebeek Street, Kuilsriver, 7590
The public comment period closes on Tuesday, 29 September 2026.
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