Parliament committee concerned about stray dogs in Trinidad and Tobago

MEMBERS of the Parliament's Finance and Legal Affairs joint select committee (JSC) on Friday expressed concern about the number of stray dogs in TT and the lack of facilities to care for them.

The committee held a virtual meeting with officials from the Rural Development and Local Government Ministry on the partially proclaimed Dog Control Act 2013. One of the objectives of the act "is to provide for the control of dogs and to regulate the manner in which certain breeds of dogs are kept by their owners or keepers."

The act also covers the care of class A dogs, which are considered to be dangerous.

Four breeds are covered by the act.

They are the pitbull terrier, fila brasileiro, Japanese tosa and dogo argentino and any dog bred from these four species.

Digital Transformation Minister Hassel Bacchus said data provided by the TT Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (TTSPCA) showed there were approximately 31,515 stray dogs in TT between 2004 to 2009.

Bacchus could attest to this as someone who walks the streets of Port of Spain daily.

"This is stray dogs. This is a real and serious issue."

Estimating that this data implied there were 100 stray dogs per day in different parts of TT over a nine year period, Bacchus agreed with a point raised by Hislop about local government corporations being able to determine the volume of dogs they have to deal with and the types of facilities to accommodate them.

Bacchus also questioned what happened to an initiative to microchip class A dogs back in 2013.

Government Senator Laurence Hislop said as a dog lover, he was concerned about the care of stray dogs in TT.

He asked if any of the other local government corporations had identified locations for dog shelters within their respective jurisdictions.

Port of Spain South MP Keith Scotland asked why, with the exception of the San Fernando City Corporation, no other local government corporation in Trinidad had built proper facilities to house stray dogs. He observed that some of those dogs could be class A dogs.

Scotland asked, "Why has this not been done for eight years?"

When he put this question to local government corporation officials in the meeting, there was an initial period of silence.

Scotland said, "It seems I have no takers."

JSC chairman Independent Senator Hazel Thompson-Ahye urged them to respond.

"Don't be frightened and coward."

She allowed other JSC members to raise their questions to give the local government corporation officials time to gather their thoughts.

Thompson-Ahye was not satisfied with the overall pace at which local government organisations were implementing measures for dog control. She reminded them that while they may have plans in the pipeline, people have been injured or killed in random dog attacks over the years.

Thompson-Ahye also observed that members of the public have committed acts of unjustifiable cruelty to dogs during the same period.

"Dog is is man's best friend but it has not always been the case.