LETTER OF THE DAY - Revise outdated dog importation laws
Published:Monday | July 5, 2010 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
I WRITE with reference to an article published on Friday, June 25, titled 'Sniffer dogs searching for bodies in Tivoli Gardens' not to criticise the activity, but to explore concerns in relation to the activity that I feel are poignant.
First, the Shipping Association of Jamaica has a Canine Division which breeds and trains labrador retrievers for work in the shipping industry and also to supplement the K9 Division of the Jamaica Constabulary Force. Why was it necessary to invite a search team from the United States (US), presumably at public expense - it was not indicated whether these services were donated by their providers - to do work that we are fully capable of doing in Jamaica, at a significantly reduced cost to the public?
Second, how is it that the chief veterinarian in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries could allow for the importation (temporary or otherwise) of dogs from the US when this is in contravention of the relevant acts in respect to canine importation and the public-health risk of rabies in particular?
Hypocrisy at large
Under the Rabies Act, it is illegal for local vets to have access to the rabies vaccine, as the presumption is that Jamaica is rabies-free and the only place we can legally import dogs from (the United Kingdom) is also rabies-free. Given this, how would the ministry or its Veterinary Services Division contend with a sick animal if one of the sniffer dogs contracted rabies prior to its arrival?
This is a glaring example of hypocrisy and possibly corruption in the ministry and the Veterinary Services Division. It is clear that they are willing to overlook the competence of local service providers, even if they fall within the ambit of government, in favour of foreigners that, needless to say, will incur great public expense and may include a risk to public health. To make matters worse, they have used the discretion they have been allowed to circumvent the relevant laws in an instance which is not even conceivably necessary, given the existence of the service locally.
Not long ago, veterinarian and Member of Parliament Dr St Aubyn Barlett trumpeted the presence of what he termed "dangerous dogs" on the island and did not hesitate to point out the fact that they had been smuggled in, in contravention of the same laws that his colleagues have apparently ignored, by allowing the importation of this team of sniffer dogs from the US to work in Tivoli.
Pushed into wrong
The failure of the state to protect its citizens adequately from harm, as well as the antiquated laws preventing persons from acquiring dogs from outside the UK for personal protection, has created a scenario where only the very wealthy can import dogs. The spiralling crime rate and the seeming unwillingness of the Firearm Licensing Authority to grant firearm licences to ordinary people has left the common man to rely on a big aggressive dog to protect his family. Very often, dogs are the offspring of animals that came to Jamaica through illegitimate means, and therein lies the problem.
It is evident that the archaic laws in relation to dog importation need to be revised. It cannot be that government says one thing and does another.
I am, etc.,
BRIAN-PAUL WELSH