Police on the hunt for dog killers

POLICE are searching for three people from San Fernando linked to the grisly crime of killing a dog and hanging the animal on a tree.

Snr Supt Wayne Mohammed, who is in charge of the Southern Division, told Sunday Newsday that he was sent a video by police Commissioner Gary Griffith which showed someone hanging a black dog with cable wires on a tree.

The 59-second video is believed to have been recorded in Embacadere, San Fernando area.

Last year, Griffith established an Animal Cruelty Unit to investigate and charge people who ill-treat, abandon, neglect and abuse animals. In a media release in October last year, Griffith said the police will be enforcing all relevant laws pertaining to the treatment of animals and assigned two police officers per division to assist all animal welfare organisations in investigating animal cruelty laws.

Section 79 (1) of the Summary Offences Act Chapter 11:02 states, "Any person who cruelly beats, ill-treats, starves, over-drives, overrides, overloads, abuses, tortures or otherwise maltreats any animal is liable to a fine of four hundred dollars or to imprisonment for two months."

Section 82 (1) of the Summary Offences Act Chapter 11:02 states that up to $500 compensation shall be paid to the owner of an animal that was ill-treated or killed.