New rules for cats, dogs and other pets in Cape Town, including stricter leash laws
The City of Cape Town has published its draft Animal Keeping By-law, 2026, for public comment, which aims to tighten its current laws around pet ownership in the city.
The draft is open for comment until 29 September 2026.
The proposed by-laws are being presented by the city as a means of offering and implementing protections for animals in the city.
While some provisions, like pet limits, permit requirements, and animal seizure, are drawing ire from residents, the 2026 draft laws make very few changes to the 2021 laws already in place.
The draft contains many of the same controversial provisions already in effect—such as limits on pet numbers and permit requirements—and adds only a few new measures.
The main changes include:
- Changing and expanding some definitions to include different types of animals and animal keepers
- More refined classification of livestock—differentiating between large and small livestock
- Expanding microchipping and collar requirements, including compulsory microchipping for reclaimed animals
- Requiring broader approval for permits to keep more than the allowed number of animals.
- Banning the use of dogs in hunting activities.
- A wider prohibition on unleashed dogs
- Formalising permit requirements for sellers and breeders
- A reduction of holding times for animals seized by the city
- The formal introduction of search, seizure, and entry warrant processes
Notably, the restrictions on the number of pets allowed and the requirement for permits from 2021 have not changed.
Under the 2021 laws, and unchanged in the 2026 draft, no person may keep more than two dogs in or at a dwelling unit.
For those living in a house, the limit is three or four in a large house. Farmhouses can have up to six dogs.
For cats, the limit is higher—all types of residential properties are allowed to have four cats. Six cats are allowed on farms.
Owners of cats and dogs have needed to apply to the city for a permit for these animals since 2021.
Anyone who wants to keep an animal and requires a permit must apply in writing.
“The city may charge the applicant a prescribed fee for considering and for granting a permit,” it said.
Further to this, the city said it may refuse to consider an application for a permit until the prescribed fee has been paid and until it has been provided with the information that it reasonably requires to make an informed decision.
It should be noted that the city has not yet charged any fees for this.
The city also maintains other bylaws related to dangerous animals or breeds, which require a special permit to keep.
According to the by-law, any person who keeps a dangerous animal must apply to the city for a permit to keep that specific dangerous animal.
They are also required to display “adequate signage indicating the presence of a dangerous animal” and take measures to ensure that the animal does not escape the premises where it is kept.
These are distinct from “wild animals”, which are not allowed to be kept at all without an even more restrictive permit from nature conservation officials.
The previous provisions on “noise” and “nuisance” from kept animals also still stand. The city can work with neighbourhood watches and authorities to determine whether animals are being a nuisance.
This could result in owners being issued compliance orders and given a set timeframe to resolve the issue. Failing this, the owner or person in charge of the premises will be guilty of an offence and face penalties.
These provisions are unchanged in the new draft laws.
Search, seizure, leashing and microchips
The main changes in the 2026 by-law that private households will need to note concern microchipping and leashing their dogs.
Under the 2021 by-law, microchipping was explicitly mandated for cats, which tend to wander and aren’t always necessarily restricted to a premises.
However, under the 2026 draft, this mandate is extended to dogs. All dogs must be microchipped or fitted with a collar and name tag listing the owner’s contact details.
Dogs are now also strictly required to be on leashes in all public streets and public places by default, unless a space is designated by the City Council as a free-running area.
Previously, the city designated specific public places where dogs were required to be on leashes or prohibited.
In terms of permits, a significant change is where a house wants to have more pets than are allowed.
Previously, the application for such a permit was handled exclusively by the city—in the 2026 draft bylaw, officials may require the applicant to provide written support from at least two adjacent neighbours.
Regarding animal seizures, the city is still empowered to seize animals where owners are in violation of the bylaws.
Under the 2021 laws, authorised officials had no explicit way to apply for warrants, and instead relied on broader provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA) to conduct warrantless searches.
While warrantless searches are still permitted under the 2026 draft, the new approach also establishes a formal warrant-application process.
If an owner or occupier denies consent to enter, an official must apply to a Magistrate for a warrant.
Broadly, the process has been more formalised in law and narrowed to protect authorities (from offenders and unlawful tactics) and households (giving an avenue to challenge).
However, where officials believe a warrantless search would be permitted by the CPA, this provision still stands.
Other matters relating to seizures include the shorter holding period for seized stray animals.
In the 2021 laws, these animals were held for at least 10 days, and at least 30 days for large animals. This has been reduced to 7 days and 21 days, respectively.
Animals intended for slaughter in religious or cultural ceremonies could not be kept on the residential premises for more than 12 hours prior to slaughtering in the 2021 laws.
In the 2026 draft, animals may be kept on the premises for up to 48 hours before slaughter, but applicants must formally notify adjacent neighbours.
The full draft by-law is available below. Comments on the law can be submitted on the city’s website.
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