CYPRUS does not have the means to crack down on banned breeds of fighting dogs, despite legislation that forbids their import.
The issue has come to the fore in Europe this week after a gruesome pitbull attack that killed a boy of six in Germany on Monday.
On Wednesday, Germany imposed a nationwide ban on the breeding of pitbulls and other fighting dogs and prepared to ban their import.
Several serious dog attacks occur every year in Cyprus.
Only two weeks ago, a 52-year old Strovolos shop owner and father of three shot his hunting dog and then killed himself after it mauled the six-year old daughter of a close friend. The girl required a four-hour operation to try to repair wounds inflicted to her face and head.
"This issue is a difficult one. We have dangerous breeds that are recognised by some countries, such as the UK… and their breeding is banned," Pavlos Economides, Director of the Veterinary Department, told the Cyprus Mail.
Despite a ban on the import of four breeds of fighting dogs, Economides admitted little or nothing was being done about those already on the island.
"In Cyprus, our policy is not to give import permits to dangerous breeds, but we have not gone around the island to seek out these breeds. When local authorities make complaints, we give them recommendations," he said.
"My personal opinion is that we shouldn’t punish any animal, it is not only the animal, it is also the training", he added.
Current Cyprus laws on licensing require owners to renew a dog’s license every year, but Economides said this rarely happened.
The law also says dangerous dogs should be muzzled and held on a leash in public places, but police admitted it was not enforced.
The veterinary department has no proper registry system, no centralised computerised records to consult and no provision that owners should notify the department when a pet dies.
The Veterinary Department, therefore, does not even have the basic tools to track potentially threatening animals already in the country or proactively address problems they might create.
Because of these deficiencies, the Department has helped to draw up a proposal for new legislation in order to develop an efficient registry system and regulate animals in accordance with standards set by the EU.
According to Clitos Andreou, Senior Veterinary Officer at the Animal Health and Welfare Division of the Veterinary Department, the four banned breeds are the American pitbull and the nearly identical pitbull terrier, the Japanese tosa, the dogo argentino and the fila brasilero.
These breeds are also banned in Australia and New Zealand, while the UK has only banned the importation and keeping of the pitbull terrier or American pitbull.
But many of these dogs are already present in Cyprus, and the bill submitted to Parliament therefore stipulates that they should be sterilised or neutered 30 days after the enactment of the legislation.
The passage of this crucial legislation, however, has been delayed by confusion over which parliamentary committee would take jurisdiction.
It now lies with the House Interior Committee, but is not certain how much longer it will take them to process the draft proposals.
Other breeds of dogs not banned in Cyprus, but with a bad record for attacks include the rottweiler, the bull mastiff, the American bulldog, the Akita, the American Staffordshire terrier, the Staffordshire bull terrier and the Tosa Inu.
