Vet Calls For Animal Welfare Laws

Written by Sue Fale
Thursday, 20 November 2008
Samoan Vets : l-r Faafetai, Oscar and Ken Lameta Street dog on Beach Road Local Veterinarian, Dr. Ken Lameta, is convinced the dog population in Samoa will continue to be a problem unless animal welfare laws are passed to force control on owners. He made the comment on Monday at the start of the weeklong meeting of the Australasia/Oceania Commonwealth Veterinary Association Regional Meeting and Workshop. Dr. Lameta is now a full time lecturer at the Alafua campus of the University of the South Pacific where the visiting members of his profession are meeting this week, but remains a member of the association. He holds out little hope of success for the Animal Protection Society APS, a local organisation that has been operating a dog neutering programme for many years, in response to the problem of street dogs in urban Apia. “The APS is doing good work but it is not going to work if there are no laws that will force owners to take their dogs in to be treated,” Dr. Lameta says. “We could have families in Samoa owning up to 20 dogs and not worry about it because they are not necessarily breaking any laws. “When the animals are hungry and starving they will obviously wander around in the hunt for food and this will eventually lead them into Apia.” Dr. Lameta noted however that the lack of relevant legislation is not just a problem for Samoa but most of the other Pacific Islands countries as well. He noted how this is a concern when compared to countries where most of the families are happy to keep two dogs at the most, but the animals are properly looked after and well cared for. ‘Like us humans the animals have their own welfare needs and when that cannot be met we start getting into a lot of problems like we are seeing today. Samoa’s dog control and welfare problem grows bigger and bigger as the tourism expands and tourists are exposed to the risks where the worst case scenario is to do with dog attacks as it has happened in the past. Health concern is another serious issue raised by the local vet particularly in cases where the children are involved. “ We have kids who look thin and sickly but are later diagnosed to have nothing to do with poor diet or lack of food, instead it is because of body worms that were passed over from animals like cats and dogs.” “Worm eggs can be passed from the animals to humans through the saliva and the young children are the ones most affected. “Rabies is another serious risk that comes from being bitten by an infected animal.” Dr. Lameta is thankful however that Samoa is free from some of the very serious diseases that are linked directly to the interaction between humans and animals. The avian flu that has killed bird and chickens in Asian countries is one he referred to as one example. The threat that animals pose to human life through the lack of proper attention is one of the crucial issues that will come under discussions as part of the ‘Protection, Production and Progress in the Pacific’ meeting. Comments (0) Subscribe to this comment's feed Write comment Name Email Title Comment
Last Updated ( Friday, 21 November 2008 )

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