Devant blames PNM for failure to proclaim Dangerous Dogs Act By Ria Taitt Political Editor March 25, 2014 Food Production Minister Devant Maharaj yesterday blamed the People’s National Movement (PNM) for the mauling of the 83-year-old woman. He said in 2000 the United National Congress (UNC) Government passed the Dangerous Dogs Act but the subsequent PNM Government never proclaimed it. “Even if they found that it was deficient, they had close to a decade to remedy the legal deficiency and bring some sort of legislative remedy,” he said. He said all during this time the country was witnessing on a regular basis attacks on persons by dangerous dogs. Maharaj said the People’s Partnership would have proclaimed the act, but following appeals from dog lovers, it engaged in consultation and came with an act which was passed in 2013. Again, after calls for a review from dog lovers, this Government further amended the act which was passed in the Senate last week, he said. He said the PNM did not support the bill there. “It is unfortunate that a person has lost their life and this tragic death has to weigh on the conscience of PNM leader Keith Rowley,” Maharaj stated. Earlier, addressing stakeholders meeting on dog import protocols at Chancellor Hotel, St Ann’s, the Minister said one example of the Government’s care of animals was that for the first time the importation of dogs and cats into Trinidad and Tobago without quarantine was being allowed. This came into effect on April 2013. Maharaj said with the substantial advances in veterinary research and medicine, improvement on testing for animal diseases and technology, over the past 60 years, this form of protection is no longer necessary and can cause more harm than good. “I want to reassure the public that removal of this quarantine does not mean that rabies or any other disease will easily enter our borders as the technology used is highly reliable,” he said. He said under the former administration, the public complained of the stress and frustration experienced by both pet owners and animals alike, from the six month quarantine. He said people want to travel with their dogs and they opt for pet-friendly destinations to take their dogs. “I am confident that the removal of this quarantine procedure will open up Trinidad and Tobago to more tourists who prefer to travel with their dogs. Then there are members of the public who rely on service dogs and were severely affected by this outdated quarantine procotol. Members of the Blind Welfare Association are here with us today and can attest to their complaints that guide dogs, after being quarantined for such a long period often lost their training and became of no use to the blind person,” he said.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 19:50:41 +0000
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