Dog owners will have to register the details of their pets annually under new law being enacted by the ACT government.
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The territory's new dog database is designed to keep tabs on the territory's canine pets. All dogs in the ACT have to have an implanted microchip and the details registered with the government's database along with the address of the owner and the colour and name of the dog.
The ACT government wants those details reconfirmed annually. It's about to introduce a bill to "strengthen responsible dog ownership by requiring all dog owners to update their details annually, at no additional cost".
The new law would come into force on July 1.
The government believes the new regulation will help lost dogs get reunited with owners more quickly, and also deal with dangerous dogs more easily.
The ACT's Minister for Transport and City Services, Chris Steel, said the new system would "help keep our furry best friends and the broader community safe".
"Annual registration will ensure that we have up to date information on dogs so we can better understand how many are living here in the ACT, and pinpoint where and who owns them," the minister said.
"The proposed laws will be supported by a new digital dog database, where owners will be required to quickly and easily update their details once a year at no additional cost."
The minister believes a new law is needed because people move houses and don't put the new details on the dog database.
The new legislation would require the ACT's Domestic Animal Services agency, which deals with lost and dangerous dogs, to contact dog owners once a year to remind them they need to update their pets' details.
According to the ACT government, one in three Canberrans owns a dog.
The big doggy areas are:
- Tuggeranong (48 per cent)
- Weston/Molonglo (36 per cent)
- Belconnen (32 per cent)
- Woden (32 per cent)
- Inner North (28 per cent)
- Inner South (26 per cent)
- Gungahlin (23 per cent)
Registration of a dog costs $57.55. For Seniors Card holders and people in receipt of a Veteran's Affairs pension or Centrelink benefits the cost is $20.70.
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Steve Evans
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
