Because of a lack of space, pit bulls handed over to the T&T Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (TTSPCA) will be euthanised. In a telephone interview on Friday, president of the TTSPCA Sita Kuruvilla said this option was the most humane. She is discouraging people from abandoning their dogs on the streets because they would suffer from starvation and abuse.
According to Kuruvilla and Nalini Dial, president of Animals are Human Too, which focuses on stray dogs and animal abuse, people have taken to abandoning their dogs, especially pit bulls, in light of the proposed Dog Control Bill presented by Attorney General Anand Ramlogan in Parliament last Monday. Kuruvilla added, however, that people were reacting to the bill by abandoning their dogs, but still described this as a “normal practice” in T&T.
“Since last year, when there were reports of a Dog Control Bill, a lot of pit bulls were brought to the shelter and abandoned...We’re getting a lot of reports about abandonment right now, and it doesn’t surprise me,” she said. She advised the public to wait, and not react to what they have heard, as no legislation has been finalised as yet. She said people were hearing about registration and insurance for their dogs, and were not interested or did not have the means to comply with such stipulations.
Kuruvilla said: “People should wait. If they feel like they can’t wait, bring them to the shelter...Do not abandon them.” Dial said the fallout from the law was that people would continue to abandon their dogs at the TTSPCA and random areas around T&T. “As soon as the bill went to Parliament, owners started abandoning their dogs, mostly pit bulls...How will the Government deal with that?”
Dial said the proposed bill was having a negative effect because the abandoned dogs were adding to the overwhelming number of stray dogs already roaming the country. She said her organisation received calls from concerned people in Chaguaramas, Claxton Bay, Freeport and Carlsen Field in Chaguanas. These abandoned dogs were a danger to society, she said, especially pedestrians and children travelling to school.
“These dogs are scared, running about hungry which only makes them more vicious and likely to attack people,” Dial said. “They might starve to death, but not before they reproduce. How is Government going to deal with these dogs out there?” She questioned whether the Government planned to shoot defenceless dogs in response to the influx of stray dogs, bringing up the killing of Justice Minister Christlyn Moore’s Rottweiler on April 29, when it went into her neighbour's property.
Moore’s dog was reported to be inside her neighbour's house and was shot three times by police. Dial said the animal should have been contained, not killed. Dial said the proposed punishment for owners was a “quick fix” and caused responsible owners to suffer for the carelessness of a few. The bill proposes a fine of $200,000 and ten years in jail for the owner of a pit bull or any other dangerous dog that mauls a victim to death.
Kuruvilla said the Government needed to make it clear that there will be support for owners who cannot meet the requirements set out in the new legislation. She said many people were calling in, thinking that the bill had been made law. “Government needs to issue a clear statement about where we are at the moment...People do not know the details,” she said.