Residents warned that breeding chickens at home is illegal
Breeding of any type of birds or chickens inside or near homesteads is illegal and anyone found not following the law will be charged an amount from P2 000 to P5 000 depending on the severity of the matter, Tutume District Council has warned.
In addition, the birds will be taken away and will attract additional charges of P10 per chicken, for each day they spend in the hands of Bye Law officers.
What this means is that people of Tutume District should not erect chicken houses by the far end of their homesteads or behind their rooms as is common cause for many families.
They should also desist from erecting kraals within the villages even if they own one or two goats and should not keep donkeys inside their homes, as rearing of animals should be done at designated areas of cattle posts and farms, according to the Council.
Boitshwarelo Kamanga-Mate of Tutume Council Legal Services Department Bye Law Unit suggests that the notice to residents emanates from complaints from within the community, saying that the rearing of these animals has brought conflicts and public spats among community members. This, she said, is because animal owners do not take care of them and let them wander into other people's homes.
“Animals are roaming the streets, and these animals are causing conflicts, there is no peace amongst the people here. People are not enjoying being in their residential plots because of the unpleasant smell that often comes with the breeding of these animals. Besides, the stench is not healthy for humans to inhale,” she said.
Tutume council has realised that most Batswana are not familiar with the Bye-Laws and get in trouble due to lack of knowledge and this is why Tutume District Council is going around the district educating its people about the laws as they have decided to adopt the Central District Council Bye-Laws.
Today (Wednesday) she will be addressing the people of Nata village about the laws and implications of not abiding by them. Kamanga-Mate says she began these consultations last year November and the people are actually happy.
Most she said, confessed that they have not been familiar with the law, they did not know that they can report to Bye-Law if chickens from neighbours eat their plants and the owner reluctant to act. They also did not know about the noise nuisance law which enables them to report any unlicensed persons or entities disturbing their peace with loud music, be it a party, a bar or a church.
Kamanga-Mate shared that every council in Botswana has Bye-Laws and it is up to every motswana to familiarise themselves with the laws. Further, that at Tutume they have deliberately decided to stiffen laws in an effort to make people adhere. She has pleaded with Dikgosi to be their eyes and voice as they interact with masses on a daily.