Group urges harsh penalties for errant dog owners

The Federation For Canine Registration of Trinidad and Tobago says harsh penalties are needed for irresponsible dog owners. The non-profit organisation is also calling for comprehensive legislation and public education on the handling and securing of dogs. In a statement on Thursday, the group wished four-year-old Ezekiel Renne-Cambridge, who was mauled by two dogs on Tuesday, a speedy recovery. The organisation said the child may have been a victim of “irresponsible ownership of the dogs.” The federation’s president, Kurt Ajodha, stated: “We know that in many instances survivors of such attacks suffer psychological side effects as well. Most people keep dogs for security purposes and there can be no argument with that. 

“However, owning and keeping such dogs carry with it a serious responsibility to ensure that the premises in which they are kept is secure,” he said. “From all reports, Ezekiel may have been a victim of irresponsible ownership of the dogs in question since some reports suggest that the dogs have been able to run freely in the street on past occasions.” “The only time a dog may cause unnecessary harm is when you have careless owners and lack of education. The fact is dogs are used by the police and in military operations and by security personnel to do essentially the same thing that they do in the yard of the owner.”

He called for harsh penalties for irresponsible dog owners. He said the legislation should not be breed specific, since the breed of the dogs which attacked Ezekiel is not listed as a dangerous dog in existing legislation. The organisation recommended public education on the proper handling, caring, securing and public display of dogs. The group also recommended that all dogs be registered with the organisation since its system uses microchip identification and DNA profiling, enabling them to work with regulatory bodies and authorities to properly identify dogs and owners in cases of negligence.