A ‘Dogs law’ is set to be introduced at the next meeting of St. Vincent’s Parliament, as the country grapples with a stray and dangerous dog problem.
The island’s prime minister, Ralph Gonsalves, spoke on the issue last Wednesday on NBC radio.
“A lot of people keeping dogs, well having dogs but not keeping them and they are roaming all about. There have been incidents where they have killed animals, and stray dogs cause other types of problems for the public. I mean, it has gotten very bad, so we have to deal with it,” Gonsalves said.
Gonsalves said there are those who walk larger, aggressive dogs in public, and these dogs could also become problematic because of their owners.
“You notice I’m talking about owners—it’s a dog, Bill—but it’s also about owners because dogs, unlike, say, a tiger or a lion, are not considered dangerous by nature. The problem begins with a lot of dog owners and how such individuals deal with their dogs. How they control them, what they encourage them to do and not do; how they train them, so we have to address that,” Gonsalves stated.
Thomas Saunders Secondary and the Girls’ High School were recently forced to close due to a flea infestation, which was caused by the large number of stray dogs that frequent the area.
