Time for a moratorium on the importation and breeding of pit bulls

Jan 22, 2024 Peeping Tom

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Kaieteur News – Some persons do not accept the label of pit bull dogs as dangerous. But the number of reported attacks on persons by these dogs, the frequency and the deadliness of these attacks do not support the view of pit bulls being benign.

Just recently, a man was killed on the Corentyne, following an alleged attack by 3 pit bull dogs. The man was reportedly intoxicated and sleeping at the side of a street when the alleged attack took place.

In September 2018, a 58- year-old woman was brutally attacked by a pit bull. She suffered severe injuries to her mouth, other parts of her face and her hands, all of which required some 70 stitches.

One year earlier, a pit bull attack resulted in the death of a 52 -year-old man and injuries to two other men at Para Field, Leonora.

In November 2015, a 4- year-old child was attacked by a pit bull owned by his family in Plaisance. A family member was so upset at the incident that he reportedly stabbed the dog to death in the presence of police investigators who had gone to the scene to probe the canine attack on the child.

In August 2014, a 51- year- old woman bled to death following a pit bull attack in Lamaha Springs. Two months earlier, an 11- year-old boy from Linden sustained injuries following a pit bull attack.

In February 2012, an elderly man was severely injured in Campbellville following a pit bull attack. A dog was also believed to have been killed by the said pit bull around the same time.

In 2011, a New Amsterdam woman lost an arm following a pit bull attack in Stanleytown, Berbice.  One year earlier, a plumber was mauled and disfigured as a result of an attack by a pit bull.

So bad were things that in 2008, a magistrate was forced to order that a pit bull be put down after its owner was charged following an attack by the dog on a jogger. The incident occurred in Oct. 2007 in North Ruimveldt.

During 2008, a man was scalped, leaving his skull exposed, following a pit bull attack in Queenstown. The man was said to be a vagrant. Two weeks earlier some pit bulls turned on their caretaker in Oleander Gardens.

In a highly publicised case of the same year, a 53- year- old security guard was killed and a woman injured following a pit bull attack in Goedverwagting, East Coast Demerara.

Despite what the dog-lovers may say, a strong case can be made out that these dogs are dangerous and a decision has to be made about their continued breeding in Guyana. The facts are incontrovertible, these dogs are ferocious, their attacks are not infrequent – there is hardly a year in which persons have not been seriously injured by these dogs – and the elderly and children are the main victims of pit bull attacks. They leave their victims either dead or seriously maimed.

It is no longer enough to call on owners to secure their dogs. These dogs are fierce and not easily constrained.

No one doubts that many pit bull dogs are friendly and do not attack anyone… at least not as yet. But these dogs can and have been known to be ferocious.

Years ago – not sure whether the practice still continues – there were villages on the East Coast. Millions were gambled in these contests. The dogs involved were not trained to be pets; they were trained to kill. The police must have had intelligence about these Sunday dog fights in specially made pits.

The government has not done anything to control the breeding of these animals. One of the reasons why is it has to do with the fact that these animals are mainly owned by persons with financial means. It takes a lot of money to maintain a pit bull. Poor people don’t have that type of money. The cheapest you can buy a pit bull for is G$30,000. Some pups go for as much as $100,000. Dog breeding is big business in Guyana and there will always be a push back against any attempt at banning the breeding of pit bulls.

However, in a number of countries, there are partial bans on pit bull terriers. Guyana needs to address this problem urgently by at least placing a moratorium on the importation and breeding of pit bulls.

Let us not wait until the next person loses an arm, a leg, an ear or his or her life before action is taken. It is time for the government to address this issue and put it to rest once and for all.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this newspaper and its affiliates.)

 

 

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• Berbice, Campbellville, East Coast Demerara, Goedverwagting, Lamaha Springs, Stanleytown, the Corentyne

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