QC Council replaces with new one its ordinance limiting pets to 4 per household

The Quezon City government clarified on Wednesday that the ordinance regulating animals per home to four has been updated with a new one with the provisions animal welfare advocates have objected to.

 

Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte said in a Facebook post that the Ordinance No. 2386 or the Comprehensive Animal Regulation and Control Ordinance already has a revised version, Ordinance No. 2389 or the Quezon City Veterinary Code. It was approved and signed into law on March 26, 2015 by Mayor Herbert Bautista.

 

The updated version deleted the controversial points of its predecessor. Ordinance No. 2389 no longer mandates the restriction of pets to a maximum of four per household and requires owners to get a special permit for additional pets for P500. 

 

Belmonte said that the City Council has yet to pen the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Veterinary Code.



She assured that the Council wants to address the issues that include managing stray dog population that make up half of the city’s estimated total dog population, minimizing animal bite cases that reached 13,220 last year, and pushing for responsible pet ownership. 

“We wish to reiterate that Quezon City is committed not only to protecting the well-being of its people, but also their pets and bears their constituents’ best interests in mind with regard to pet ownership. However, we also emphasize that owning pets entails certain responsibilities that must be strictly observed for the good of the general public,” the vice mayor wrote. 

 

Before repealing Ordinance No. 2386, various animal welfare groups such as Philippine Animal Welfare Society and even celebrity animal lovers like actress Heart Evangelista and host and talent manager Lolit Solis slammed Ordinance No. 3286 for limiting the number of allowed pets per home.

Aside from that, the city ordinance also gives specific space requirements for pet owners and requires them to pay a registration fee of P200 per animal.

“I feel that na may probability na tumaas ang cases ng pet abandonment, which is contrary to the Animal Welfare Act,” Evangelista said, commenting on the now superseded ordinance .  — Trisha Macas/ELR, GMA New