McKenzie pursuing new regulations to address dog attacks

Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie says the Government will be working to close the regulatory loophole that has been exposed through the recent mauling of the St Richards Primary School teacher by pit bulls last week in Coopers Hill, St Andrew.

READ: Teacher mauled by dogs for hours

READ: Pit bulls in teacher attack euthanised

McKenzie explains that Section 51 of the Local Governance Act 2016 gives a Municipal Corporation or City Municipality the power to make regulations for the keeping of animals including dogs.

However, he disclosed that those regulations depend on the development of policies that will have to be approved by Cabinet.

“The advice received from the Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel is that a clear enforcement framework, with all the modern restrictions and penalties will have to be established for these regulations, and we will have to create the administrative support that will also be needed to make them effective.

“There are very old and less than comprehensive laws dating back to the 19th century, but the controls we need now will have to include not just stray dogs, but specifically, dog attacks, the treatment of dangerous dogs that escape from private property into public spaces, dog breeding, and the conditions in which dogs are kept by their owners,” McKenzie outlined in a statement.

Further, he said he will also be having consultations with the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton and the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Audley Shaw, who he said both also have a clear policy interest in the issue.

Additionally, McKenzie said he intends on meeting with a cross-section of public and private sector stakeholders such as the police, the private security companies, local authorities, Jamaica Customs, and the Jamaica Veterinary Medical Association to develop a clear and comprehensive policy recommendation to Cabinet so the new regulations can be quickly drafted and approved.

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