After the passage of the Dogs (Amendment) Bill, 2019, the Veterinary Council of Nigeria has praised the Oyo State House of Assembly for the consideration of the bill which has now become a law.
This was part of the message of the council during its visit to the Assembly on Tuesday in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.
Oyomesioro.com reports that the Dogs Amendment Bill, 2019 which was assented to by Governor Seyi Makinde on the 22nd of September, 2020 was sponsored by Hon Olawunmi Oladeji, the only female lawmaker in the House.
The council led by its President, AIG Aishatu Abubakar Banju also conferred Awards of Excellence to the Speaker, Hon Adebo Ogundoyin and Hon Olawumi Oladeji (Ogbomoso North) for sponsoring the Dogs Amendment Bill
The President of the Council said the Dogs Amendment Law was crucial to control and reduce the transmission of communicable diseases like Parvovirus, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis and Rabies, especially from unvaccinated dogs.
AIG Aishatu Abubakar said the Veterinary Council of Nigeria is infinitely grateful to the Oyo State House of Assembly because the Law will make all dog owners responsible for keeping their animals and preventing them from roaming and attacking people.
The Speaker, Oyo State House of Assembly, Hon Adebo Ogundoyin said the Dogs Amendment Bill, 2019 was among the seventy-three bills already passed by the 9th Oyo Assembly and agreed to by Governor Seyi Makinde.
“We have set a good record and we’ll still set more records in the 9th Oyo State House of Assembly. Dogs Amendment Bill is one the Bills passed by us in two years and this has made us surpass the records of the last Oyo Assembly.” the Speaker said.
Hon Ogundoyin stated more than the Law would have a positive impact on the lives of the residents of Oyo State as it is aimed at protecting them from dog attacks, and also give adequate treatment and compensation to anyone bitten by dogs.
In her own remarks, Hon Olawumi Oladeji (Ogbomoso North) explained that she sponsored the bill because of the prevalent incidents of dog bites and attacks among residents of Oyo State.
Hon. Oladeji revealed that the law was amended 20 years ago and several dog-related incidents have been happening which were not included in the bill warranted its amendment.
The lawmaker, who represents Ogbomoso North state constituency, urged the Veterinary Council of Nigeria to make awareness and sensitization programmes on the law a top priority.
She affirmed that necessary amendments have been carried out and punishments for offenders have been reviewed to make society a haven.
According to her, some of the provisions of the Law include a fine of N100,000 or six months imprisonment or both for any dog owner who fails to keep their dogs under control, a fine of N250,000 or imprisonment for six months or both for dog owners who fail to bear the total cost of medical expenses incurred by the victim of the attack.
She added ”A fine of N200,000 or six months imprisonment or both for any dog owner who fails to vaccinate his/her dogs against communicable diseases hence we call on all the Stakeholders to sensitize members of the public on the provisions of the Amendment“
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