Municipal Assembly , 21.06.2022

Planned dog regulations cause discussions in Walchwil

The Walchwil municipal council wants to set clear guidelines. Not all of them meet with understanding from the parties.

The Walchwil municipal meeting on Tuesday, 21 June, aims to rein in dog owners - figuratively, of course. The municipal council wants to introduce a new dog regulation. This has become necessary because there has been a significant increase in animals, "but, in particular, because of various identified grievances, such as the inadequate guidance and non-leashing of dogs, as well as the abandonment of dog faeces," according to the agenda for the municipal meeting.

A look at the statistics of the Identitas Swiss animal traffic database shows that exactly 250 dogs were registered in Walchwil at the end of May this year,. This is the second lowest value in the canton of Zug, just ahead of Neuheim (176). The ratio of animals per 100 inhabitants is high, however (6.5%). Only Neuheim (7.9%) and Oberägeri (6.8%) have higher values. With the planned introduction of the regulations, the Walchwil municipal council is following other places, for example, Risch has recently issued such a regulation.

Duration of the leash obligation is questionable
The regulations are already causing discussions in Walchwil. The FDP (liberal party) asks "whether it really needs this", according to the local party President René Loosli. In the end, a regulation is probably necessary because of "a minority of recalcitrant dog owners". But the Liberals also believe that dogs should have "more exercise and less time on the leash", especially during the winter. The party assembly of the Mitte party supports the efforts of the municipal council not to have to prescribe a general leash obligation. If necessary, however, the regulations must be improved. Leash obligation applies on public roads in the neighbouring canton of Schwyz, which is why many people come to the Walchwilerberg and let their dogs run free there, writes Mitte President René Dubacher.

Dogs are to be kept on a leash in the future. (Icon image)           Photo: Boris Bürgisser, Meggen

In addition, the meeting in Walchwil will discuss the 2021 financial statements. The plus for the year amounts to around CHF 6.5 million ("only" CHF 1.8 million was budgeted). Of this, CHF 3.15 million is to be used for pre-financing new school buildings. In addition to much higher tax revenues, the unexpectedly good result can be attributed to lower expenses. This also includes several loan underruns, as can be seen from the introduction paper.

SP wants part of the millions to be used for Ukraine refugees
The SP supports the pre-financing of school space, but wants to divert CHF 200,000 from the amount earmarked for free equity: one half for emergency aid in favour of refugees from Ukraine in this country, and the other for measures in the war-damaged country.

The FDP and Mitte parties, on the other hand, support the proposal of the municipal council regarding the full assignment to equity. FDP President Loosli also writes in his statement that the municipal council is planning a tax cut for the coming year "unless the situation is completely turned upside down for geo-political reasons". This was recently announced by their municipal councillor René Peyer at the party meeting.

The municipal meeting takes place in the community hall (Gemeindesaal) and starts at 8 pm.