Bangkok to crack down on irresponsible pet owners with new ordinance

The Bangkok Council has passed a new city ordinance restricting the number of cats and dogs people can keep and requiring that each pet is microchipped.

The council approved the ordinance on Tuesday and passed it on to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to enforce as soon as possible.

The BMA has yet to announce when this new regulation will be enforced.

The draft was approved after Bangkok Noi councillor Napapol Jirasakul, who chaired the committee vetting the draft, reported that his panel had finished holding a public hearing and consulting other organisations concerned.

Napapol said the new regulation was aimed at preventing owners from abandoning their pets and at preventing foul smell, noise pollution and unhealthy environment for pets living in cramped conditions.

He added that the new ordinance will also make Bangkok safer for pedestrians.

Napapol added that the ordinance was drafted and revised in line with opinions collected via online public hearings and opinions from representatives of the Livestock Development Department, the BMA Livestock Office, faculties of veterinarian science at several universities, The Voice Foundation, Soi Dog Foundation and the SOS Animal Thailand.

Napapol told the council that the ordinance would allow the BMA to seize dogs deemed detrimental to the public and detain them at the BMA animal shelter in Prawet district.

The city ordinance will also restrict the number of dogs and cats people can keep based on their housing area, such as:

• One dog or cat in an apartment sized 20-80 square metres (Permission can be sought for a second pet)
• 2 pets in a house on 20 square wah of land
• 3 pets in a house on 20-50 square wah
• 4 pets in a house on 50-100 square wah
• 6 pets in a house on more than 100 square wah

Pet owners are also required to have their cats or dogs microchipped and should provide a certificate from their vets to register the pets at BMA’s health offices, veterinary clinics or its other offices.

If a dog has a history of being aggressive or has bitten people, it must be muzzled and put on a short leash every time it is taken outside.

Those wanting to raise a pair of dogs or cats for breeding will be required to seek permission from the BMA first.