Colonial dog tax to be re-introduced in Colombo

A colonial period dog tax, aimed at promoting "responsible pet ownership", will be re-introduced in the Sri Lankan capital next year, officials have said.
Dr IVP Dharmawardena, the Colombo Municipal Council's chief veterinary officer, said there are estimates that over 15,000 dogs are in the city.
"We plan to license them so that we could prevent health hazards such as rabies", Dharmawardena said.
"We want to promote the concept of responsible pet ownership," he said.
Dharmawardena said during the British colonial time a tax of rupees 7.5 per female and rupees 5 per male dog had been charged.
During the recently held Commonwealth Heads of Government summit, the animal rights activists alleged that hundreds of stray dogs in the city had been rounded up and kept under CMC detention without properly feeding them.

The opposition during the ongoing debate on the 2014 government budget, charged that import taxes on pet food for dogs and cats had been reduced whereas essential food items had been brought under higher import taxes.