November 21, 2003

Dear Sir,

Congratulations to the Bermuda Kennel Club for conducting the public meeting held on November 20 and providing a forum for dog owners to voice their concerns. There seemed to be three main areas of concern:

1) Banning importation of selected breeds.

2) Inconsistency in issuing breeders' licences.

3) The right to own or train a dog for personal protection.

I would like to make the following suggestions:

1) Banning importation of selected breeds: Could the BKC seek the advice of an expert from another country where breed-specific law has been implemented? Perhaps invite him or her to Bermuda to discuss the matter and offer their advice, for example, Dr. Roger Mugford (canine behaviourist) who has been involved in many court cases after the disastrous breed-specific law was introduced in the UK.

It seems that the main criteria for banning a breed is its size and therefore the potential damage a large dog could inflict if not suitably controlled. lf animal control tightened up the requirements for issuing import permits, the need to ban breeds would be largely removed. Requirements for import permits should be revised to include a property inspection to determine the applicant has a suitable and secure fenced-in enclosure for the dog(s). (In my opinion invisible fencing and running chains do not provide adequate confinement for a dog.)

Banning importation of large breeds* does not address the problem of the dogs that already exist in Bermuda. Therefore I would recommend the issuing or re-issuing of dog licences also be dependent on a property inspection.

*The current breed specific banning includes crossbreeds. Animal control (as has been apparent in other countries) would have great difficulty in determining what a crossbreed is, especially when the parent dogs of the "crossbreed" are not available for identification.

2) Inconsistency in issuing breeders' licences: A home inspection should be mandatory. The applicant should demonstrate that he or she will be a responsible breeder by selecting a sire and dam of sound temperament and also screening the dogs for hereditary diseases where applicable.

Canine Good Citizen certification or other recognised temperament certification should be available. In breeds where hereditary disease is a concern, certificates to show that the dogs have been screened for such diseases should also be made available. A list of suitable prospective puppy owners should also be provided. These requirements should be met prior to the actual breeding of the dogs. Retroactive breeders' licences will still need to be issued in situations where dogs have been accidentally mated but the fee should be increased and offending dog owners/breeders should be closely monitored. Failure to apply for a breeders' licence is already covered by the existing regulations.

However, the confiscation of litters especially if they are not immediately destroyed needs to be addressed. Incarceration of young puppies deprives them of the essential socialisation that they require in order to develop into normal, sound temperament adult dogs. (The critical socialisation period in the dog ends at around 12 weeks of age.) Under-socialised puppies do not make good pets and are more likely to develop into fear biters. It would be irresponsible to allow these puppies back into the community if they are going to develop into fearful and therefore potentially dangerous adult dogs.

3) The right to own or train a dog for personal protection: A dog owner should have the right to own a dog for personal protection but improved control is required for those persons wishing to train dogs for protection. Trainers, handlers and dogs should all require special licensing by the animal control department. Trainers should be able to provide proof of their knowledge and experience, for example instructors' certification, references etc. In granting of the special licence both dog and handler must be evaluated for suitability for this type of training and re-evaluated on an annual basis. Implementing these recommendations would require more personnel in the animal control department.

There has been much criticism of the inconsistency and lack of impartiality of the government veterinarian and the dog wardens. Perhaps Government should consider hiring an experienced animal control officer from overseas to train new personnel and assist existing personnel to make impartial decisions. The additional expense of hiring an expert would surely be worthwhile if it could prevent some of the forthcoming court cases which so often are time consuming, costly and force dogs to be kept incarcerated for months, sometimes years at the taxpayers' expense.

JANE TAYLOR

(A large-breed dog owner)

Sandys

Seeing the light(s)

November 20, 2003

Dear Sir,

May I be the first to congratulate the Corporation of Hamilton on restoring the City's traffic lights following Fabian. I, for one, was really getting fed up being able to drive around Hamilton with relative ease and was beginning to miss being "corralled" into groups of 20 cars before being allowed to proceed!

Having the lights reminded me a bit of the Old West where wagons were not allowed to proceed on their own but had to wait to form part of a wagon train!

The absence of the lights for a number of weeks should have given the Corporation the opportunity to reassess the need for lights at certain junctions. None would appear to be needed at the General Post Office junction while those at the junction of Church Street and Burnaby Street usually cause traffic jams all the way back to Par-la-Ville Road.

Pedestrian crossings at the junction of Reid and Burnaby Streets work very well and perhaps, the next time the lights go out of action, the Corporation might consider a greater use of such crossings to control traffic. After all the only maintenance needed will be a lick of paint every year!

JOHN R. KANE

Devonshire

Send inmates home

November 17, 2003

Dear Sir,

After reading the plight in our prison system in The Royal Gazette this morning, I think I've got a suggestion that may be a solution to the occupancy rate anyway. I mean 100 percent is quite a large figure. I remember reading in this paper about a "treaty" signed pertaining to inmates going to their own homelands to serve or finish sentences. So, my suggestion is couldn't they transfer all the inmates that have served half or two-thirds of their sentences to their own countries to finish their time? Wouldn't that help to relieve our prison officers and the taxpayers coffers as well! What you all think?

LOOKING OUT

Devonshire

Serving the community

November 18, 2003

Dear Sir,

The Lions of Bermuda have been honourably serving the Bermuda community for over 57 years. Since the first Lion Club was chartered in Hamilton in 1946, Lions have served as the Knights of the Blind and have been there to assist those in need throughout the Island. There are now over 200 Lions in six clubs, each autonomous in its administration, fundraising and record keeping: the Hamilton Lions Club (1946), the Sandys Lions Club (1954), the Eastern Lions Club (1959), the Paget Lions Club (1986), and Hamilton Lioness Lions Club (1977/2003), and the Eastern Lioness Lions Club (1985/2003). The Somers Lioness Club has also been a valuable part of the Bermuda Lions family since 1989.

The recent article appearing in this newspaper regarding the internal accounting of one of our clubs unfairly tarnishes the good name of all Lions. Each Lions Club is required to adhere to the strict financial guidelines of Lions Clubs International, as well as the laws of Bermuda which require the submission of an annual filing with the Registrar of Charities. The Lions oath and the personal integrity of our members mandate that each club take these financial responsibilities seriously.

While the Lions of Bermuda take exception to certain presumptions of wrongdoing set forth in the recent article that appeared in this newspaper, we nonetheless wish to assure the public that the matter is being taken seriously and receiving appropriate attention from Lions authorities as well as the Charities Commission.

The Lions of Bermuda hope that the public will continue to express confidence in and lend support to the charitable goals and service projects of the various Lions Clubs throughout the island. Such support will allow us to continue screening the sight of every pre-school child, assist Bermudians with costly eye operations and eye glasses, prevent drug abuse in our schools through our Lions Quest Programme, help those less fortunate at holiday time through our Share the Christmas Spirit project, conduct diabetes screening, provide services to our elderly citizens, fund projects for the disabled, provide medical equipment to KEMH and its affiliates, develop our youth through music and community service, and so much more.

Just as the Lions were there to meet the needs of our neighbours in the aftermath of Hurricane Fabian, we will continue to honour the motto of our association whenever required... WE SERVE. We look forward to the continued support of Bermudians in this mission.

EDWARD FIGUEIREDO

Deputy Zone Chairman

Lions and Lioness Clubs of Bermuda

Needs aren't being met

November 18, 2003

Dear Sir,

In recognition of the universal Day of the Child, which marks the date that the Convention of the Rights of the Child was adopted by the United Nations, The Reading Clinic would like to highlight a few of the children's rights adopted by the International Reading Association.

Children have a right to appropriate early reading instruction based on their individual needs.

Children have a right to well-prepared teachers who keep their skills up to date through effective professional development.

Children have the right to reading assessment that identifies their strengths as well as their needs and involves them in making decisions about their learning.

Children who struggle with reading have a right to receive intensive instruction from professionals specifically prepared to teach reading.

In spite of exemplary practices in some schools, many children are not having their needs met. Training programmes for teachers and some specialists inadequately prepare them for the responsibility of teaching and assessing reading effectively. In addition, allocation of limited resources often results in lack of personnel available to provide intensive instruction to struggling readers beyond Primary 2.

Therefore, on this day while we celebrate many improvements in services for children, we need to acknowledge that there still are many children who are deprived of needed services for them to experience success. We all should be working together to ensure that newly hired teachers acquire the foundation of skills necessary to teach reading effectively and, secondly, that specialists are available in schools to provide intensive instruction beyond Primary 2. Working together, we should have even more to celebrate on next year/s Universal Day of the Child.

JANET KEMP, ED. D

Director

The Reading Clinic