Calls for stricter enforcement of dog ownership laws and improved care practices are growing louder within the professional animal care community. One key suggestion is the introduction of licensing requirements for owning large or potentially dangerous dogs.
Recent reports of large, aggressive dogs escaping private properties and posing risks to neighbourhoods, passersby, and livestock have sparked widespread discussion recently. However, animal care professionals note that concerns about general attitudes toward pet and dog ownership have persisted for decades.
“I wish I could say that dog ownership habits have changed or improved, but honestly I drive around and I can see how people have their dogs and it really hasn’t changed for the last 27 or so years since I’ve been practising,” says veterinarian Jennifer Cenac-Andrew.
“Unfortunately, people do not understand or appreciate how important it is to have a pet and what the general things regarding pet ownership are,” she told St Lucia Times.
Cenac-Andrew says ideal dog ownership goes beyond tethering the animal to a leash or keeping it in an enclosed area. “It’s more about how you take care of your dog. Do you give it love? Do you walk it daily, or is it whenever you have the time? These things have not really improved and unfortunately, some of the most intelligent people in Saint Lucia have those bad habits.
“I think one of the biggest things is for people to understand you don’t have a dog for one year or two years. You’re going to have it for the next 15 years. It’s going to take not just buying food, feeding it and bathing it every four weeks; it is going to take, again, attention, ensuring that the dog is adequately trained and that the dog is secure, even from the elements.”
Trinidadian dog trainer and owner of MAKS k9 Security Inc, Gregory Ragoonanan has been training dogs in Saint Lucia since 1998, although he began in Trinidad in 1986. He warns that secure containment of large dogs is a vital safety measure and essential for responsible dog ownership.
“You have to contain dogs properly. Being from Trinidad, you had to have a proper, secure yard. The authorities come around and check to make sure that your yard is properly secure, especially for big breeds because large breeds – Boerboel, Pitbulls, Malinois, German Shepherds and so on – could jump over the wall. Unless your wall or fence is a certain height, they don’t allow you to have it. We need to be training these dogs, making sure everybody has a certificate that the dog has been trained,” Ragoonanan stressed in an interview with the St Lucia Times, adding that unsecured large dogs pose an imminent danger.
“Let’s say there’s a child walking on the road, not just animals; these dogs are prey animals and if something runs away or squeals with any kind of high-pitched voice, they’re going to attack it and the more you try to kick and fight, the more they’re going to attack the person or animal.”
Saint Lucia’s Animal Act, last revised in 2022, details regulations regarding the ownership and handling of “dangerous dogs”.
In the Act, the term “dangerous dog” refers to any dog over 20kg “with a propensity to attack humans or domestic animals without provocation and includes but is not limited to—a) fighting dogs; b) dogs, such as Dobermans, Rottweilers, Ridgebacks, Akitas, Bullmastiffs, Mastiffs, German Shepherds; and c) any dog designated a dangerous dog by the minister of local government by order published in the Gazette.”
According to the Act, where “dangerous dogs” are concerned, owners are obligated to “ensure that the premises on which that dog is kept are secured by a fence, wall or gate of a suitable height and that such fence or wall is constructed and maintained as to prevent the escape of the dog.” A person who contravenes this is liable on summary conviction for a first offence, to a fine of $500 and continued offence to a fine of $50 for each day thereafter that the offence continues”.
The Animal Act states that an owner of a “dangerous dog” is liable for any injuries or damages to property the dog causes when it escapes. In the event of injury to a person, the owner is liable on summary conviction of a $5 000 fine. In the event an escaped “dangerous dog” causes the death of a person, the owner is liable on summary conviction of a $20 000 fine. Where the owner is proven to have been aware of the dog’s propensity to attack, if an escaped dangerous dog injures or kills another person, the court can impose a five-year term of imprisonment on the owner.
The Act also prohibits anyone under 18 from owning a “dangerous dog”.
However, Cenac-Andrew says more is required. Echoing Ragoonanan, she said that prerequisites should be formally implemented. “We can put as many laws as possible in place but if we don’t have individuals to enforce those laws, then it is of no consequence. While there is an animal cruelty law, one, it is not enforced, and sometimes even then depending on the circumstances, it may not work in your favour or in the dog’s favour,” she asserted.
She believes a licensing system should be introduced. “I think we should start thinking about having licences for pet ownership. That would probably go a long way. So, there will be certain criteria that people must meet to be a dog owner, or a pet owner for that matter. It could be a horse, sheep, goats, whatever the animal.”
While legislative upgrades may take time, Cenac-Andrew says dog tethering is an immediate concern that owners can address now.
“It’s really, really, really bad in Saint Lucia the number of animals that are in fenced areas but are still on leashes or are in kennels — and it’s a very small kennel,” she pointed out, urging pet owners to consider an alternative.
“Some of these dogs need to be confined because they are aggressive, and they are dangerous but the majority of them are not. I believe that if you’re going to be a good dog owner, or animal owner, especially dogs, your dog should be inside your home. It should not be outside chained, because it wants to guard you—that is what is protecting you and your property and that is where it’s going to be the most effective when it’s inside your home.”
Totally agree with this statement. I’ve seen dogs here on a very short chain, no water, no shelter and god knows if they get fed. Some of the dogs I see everyday chained up don’t look like they have been fed or taken care off as their condition is appalling and so sad. St Lucians need to realise that these dogs need love. They will protect you with their lives but can’t do that if tied up.
Come on St Lucia we can do better.
AGREED
I approve this article.
What about doing something about those packs of strays roaming the streets of Castries? Are y’all waiting for them to turn feral and maul down a tourist to then do something? God knows y’all won’t do anything if it affects locals.
I agree with some of the suggestions but licencing could cause a surge in the dogs being turned loose and becoming roaming packs.
Tethering on 2 feet of chain with no food or water has to be seen as a criminal offence.
Educate the owners then the animals will follow.
Our dogs have had stones and rocks pelted at them by children as young as 5, because this is what their elders do!
Our dogs reluctantly obey commands but they protect US and our property.
They are fed, watered and cared for.
A government led sterilisation programme would help ease the situation of unwanted dogs leading to strays.
Apply common sense!!!!
So the laws are there concerning “dangerous dogs”, but there is little, if any enforcement. Pitbulls roam free not only on the roads but also on the beaches, with the owners a short distance away saying to passersby it won’t do you anything, don’t worry. Some of those owners take great pride in walking those dogs just to show off, they pass by with their pants below their waist. They look like they cannot even take care of themselves, much less a dog, which looks in better condition than them anyway! Dangerous dogs in any public place, whether the beach or the road, should be muzzled out, simple. And owners of dangerous dogs should be made to take out an insurance policy in the event of any altercation.