RECENT reports in the media on the issue of enforcement of animal welfare laws following the hacking to death of several penned dogs by vigilante members of the Ogle Street, Beterverwagting E.C.D. community, including police officers, reflected conflicting opinions between an unnamed Guyana Police Force source and the Guyana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (GSPCA). 

The GSPCA wishes to clearly state its position on the very important issue of the enforcement of Guyana’s animal welfare laws at this particularly pertinent time.
The GSPCA is a non-governmental organisation registered under the Friendly Societies Act. Contrary to the opinion expressed by the Guyana Police Force source, it has no statutory powers to prosecute breaches of animal welfare laws.
The Guyana Police Force, however, has both the power and the responsibility to enforce these laws, and the GSPCA would draw their attention to the provisions relating to cruelty to animals in the Title 14 of the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act and to section 53 of the Act, which states:
“Everyone who unlawfully and maliciously kills, maims or wounds any dog …being ordinarily kept in a state of confinement or for any domestic purpose shall be liable to a fine of not less than ten thousand dollars nor more than twenty thousand dollars, and, on a second or any subsequent conviction for that offence, shall be liable to imprisonment for twelve months.”

GSPCA