Neighborhood in Lima, Peru Takes on Noise Pollution by Passing 1 Dog Per Apartment Law

When it comes to pollution, Lima has it all. The air is contaminated, the water, the sky, the streets. Pollution is everywhere.

I was quite surprised to read earlier today, that among all of the possibilities, a neighborhood in Lima has taken a stand on the issue of noisy, barking, scurrying, dogs. Who would have thought that noise pollution caused by dogs would get a group of Lima citizens up in arms?

Without a doubt, the level of noise pollution in Lima is tremendously high. When combining the cacaphony of sounds that arise from traffic, parties, animals, and so on, you will be hard pressed to find Lima residents who at some point have not been annoyed by the constant tapping of their ear drums. For this reason, I think there is merit in passing a law that attempts to limit noise pollution in Lima. Whether or not targeting the population of dogs as a method to control noise is the right way to do it– I’m not sure.

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According to Reuters, the middle-class Lima neighborhood of Jesus Maria passed a law this week that restricts each apartment to owning no more than one pet dog and each house in the neighborhood to two. Those individuals who have more dogs than the acceptable limit will face steep fines of up to 700 nuevos soles (~$250). The justification in the law is worded as such: ”neighbors have complained they cannot live in peace, harmony, or good physical and mental health because … noisy dogs disturb the peace.”

While many people who read this news might have the knee jerk reaction of saying this law fundamentally violates peoples’ freedom to own how ever many pets they choose, I would offer the suggestion that some of these dogs and other household pets do not have a high quality of life. They are sometimes left in small spaces all day, with little attention, and rarely get the opportunity to go outside (yes, this happens in other parts of the world as well).  Of course, there are other pets that do receive lots of attention, love, and live in healthy environments.

I’m not sure though that limiting the pet dog population will necessarily decrease the noise in Lima– will lonely dogs be more likely to bark? And with the high number of street dogs in the city, will a law regulating the pet dog population be effective? Will there be unhappy residents of the neighborhood who protest the law and try to get it revoked? I’m looking forward to finding out.

Read More About Laws Restricting Pet Animals on the Green Options Network:

• Big Cats Banned from Australia

Photo Credit: quinet on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

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