The Dog Control Act 2013, approved in 2013, and its amendments which were approved by the Trinidad & Tobago Senate on the 18th March, 2014, is severely limited and will neither protect the citizens of our country nor ensure the welfare of the animals that have been entrusted to our care.

The Act targets specific breeds of dogs and overwhelming independent scientific research conducted in the UK, Canada, and Spain has shown that this type of legislation has no effect at all in preventing dog bite fatalities and injuries, but instead gives the public a false sense of security.  Many countries like the United Kingdom have in fact reported an increase in dog bites since the implementation of their Act. In addition, the Act makes no provision for the safety of the public from dogs that are not on the list of “dangerous” dogs identified in the Act.

Not only will this legislation prove to be ineffective, but the Regional Corporations, who would be responsible for implementing this Act, do not have the resources and infrastructure to do so. It would take an enormous amount of funding to do this, not to mention the ongoing recurrent expenditure involved in sustaining such a project.

As if it is not enough that the Government is enacting a law that will be ineffective and counter-productive, and one which will cost the tax payer untold amounts of money to sustain, this law infringes on the citizen’s right to the peaceful enjoyment of his property as it allows for arbitrary entry onto one’s premises and seizure of one’s property.

It is therefore important that the present Act be repealed and the necessary infrastructure  put in place so that the Act can be re-written to one that is both more progressive and able to meet its goals of protecting public safety.