(JP)Animal lovers fight apartment pet bans

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Animal lovers fight apartment pet bans

 

By AYA TAMURA

Kyodo News

 

Moves are afoot among animal-loving apartment and

condominium dwellers to put an end to widespread bans

on the keeping of pets.

 

The governmental Urban Development Corp. has worked

out a pet-friendly policy for planned rental

apartments, while newly built condominiums are also

giving the green light to a symbiosis between humans

and pets.

 

Trouble over the problems of keeping animals, however,

has often led to drawn out battles between owners and

other residents. A 38-year-old company employee in

Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, can testify to this.

 

When he moved into a newly constructed condominium six

years ago, he brought his dog with him after the real

estate agent told him he could keep the pet as long as

it did not bother other residents.

 

Regulations contained a clause prohibiting residents

from raising " animals that might annoy neighbors. " The

man interpreted it to mean the dog could stay if he

kept it well-trained.

 

The situation changed in his third year in the condo.

The executive committee of the residents' association

took a fresh look at the regulation after a resident

complained of the dog's barking.

 

A member of the committee flatly declared that the

clause on animals was designed to prohibit residents

from keeping pets in the condo. Having set the tone of

the meeting, the committee eventually sent out notices

to all units banning pets in the complex.

 

The wide range of interpretation of such regulations

led to accusations of vagueness and a call to clarify

the rules.

 

The Yokosuka man successfully persuaded the committee

to set up a forum for discussion. He also organized a

" group of pet owners. "

 

The group held meetings to learn " pet owner etiquette "

and ways to train their animals. Group members

collected animal feces left outside the condo

regardless of which pet it came from.

 

Arguments continued for two years until the executive

committee withdrew the ban because there were no more

complaints.

 

Fumio Imoto, a veterinarian who operates a veterinary

hospital in Yokohama and who has witnessed conflicts

stemming from pets, said the secret to success in

discussions between those for and against keeping

animals is to take things one step at a time.

 

Residents may organize a pet owners' group like that

of the Yokosuka man and strive to improve pet-raising

skills. What is important is to maintain a dialogue

among residents of apartments and condominiums, the

vet said.

 

Acro City Towers in Tokyo's Minami-Senju district is a

large housing complex with 660 units.

 

The resident association's pet committee gathered at a

meeting hall on a weekend in June to discuss ways to

deal with the executive committee's attempt to change

the rules on pets.

 

At issue was the committee's proposal that residents

who already have dogs measuring over 40 cm in height

may keep them until they die but are prohibited from

raising another.

 

If the proposal is approved, a large dog like a golden

retriever, which can be trained as a guide dog for the

blind, would be barred.

 

The pet committee's chairman, Shoji Miyao, said, " This

condominium's added value is that (residents) can

raise large dogs. "

 

Imoto, who also serves as secretary general of the

Society for the Study of Human Animal Relations, said

there must be rules on the raising of animals in

apartments and condos.

 

He proposed that dogs and cats be castrated and then

raised indoors in order not to inconvenience

neighbors. When riding in elevators with other

residents, he recommended that pet owners first ask

whether the other residents mind the presence of their

pets.

 

The Japan Times: July 6, 2001

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