Animal microchipping soon mandatory, says RSPCA boss

It will soon be mandatory for all animals in Barbados to be microchipped, says chief inspector at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) Wayne Norville.

He made the disclosure on Thursday, saying that new legislation to facilitate this is in the works. Norville said there will also be significantly increased penalties for failing to register animals.

He was the guest speaker at the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) Food for Thought lunchtime series, at which he explored the interconnectedness of animal control and food security.

Norville said the legislation would make dog owners more accountable for the actions of their animals, and microchipping would also come in handy in the case of stolen or missing animals.

He said that over the years, many farmers had lost thousands of dollars worth of livestock due to dog attacks.

“This is now making the owner of a dog responsible. [It is not just] giving the dog food and water, you have to be more responsible now. You’re an animal owner, you took it to your home, you are responsible for all aspects of that dog’s life. That is what owning a dog is all about,” Norville said.

He disclosed that the Government was also looking to amend the Dogs Licensing and Control Act 1981 and introduce stiffer penalties, as high as $100 000, to make Barbadians take registering their animals more seriously.

Currently, under the legislation, a person failing, without reasonable excuse, to comply with the regulation is guilty of an offence, and is liable on summary conviction, to a fine of $100 or imprisonment for one month, or both.

Norville said there were scores of unregistered dogs in Barbados, adding that in some instances owners were trying to get around the system by placing the tags of deceased dogs on puppies.

The RSPCA chief inspector also said he was concerned about the culling of monkeys.

He said he would rather see an alternative approach to controlling the monkey population, including planting more fruit trees in gullies across the island to attract the primates.

Norville said it was the perfect habitat for the animals once there were more fruit trees, and it would allow humans and monkeys to coexist peacefully.
(SZB)