There will be no criminal charges filed against the owners of the four pit bulls that mauled a grade six teacher last Thursday.

That's because the 1877 Dog Liability Act only addresses the civil liability of dog owners. According to the Act: “The owner of every dog shall be liable in damages for injury done to any person, or any cattle or sheep by his dog."

The Corporate Communications Unit (CCU) of the Jamaica Constabulary Force confirmed on Tuesday that the owners of the dogs will not be charged.

"The attack itself is not a criminal offence unless it could be proved that the owners had deliberately used the dog as a weapon to attack someone," Dahlia Garrick, head of the CCU, told Loop News reporter Claude Mills.

Additionally, the Act says damages shall be recoverable in any court of competent jurisdiction by the person injured, or by the owner of such cattle or sheep killed or injured.

It is not known whether the family of the St Richard's Primary grade six teacher who was attacked will avail themselves of the civil suit recourse.

Reports are that the teacher was doing her routine evening walk along Woodland Way, in Cooper's Hill, St Andrew, on Thursday evening, when four pit bulls attacked her, causing extensive damage to her limbs and head. She was rescued by the police and taken to the University Hospital of the West Indies, where she underwent emergency surgery.



Stock photo of a pit bull.

The police have collected comprehensive statements and filed reports about the incident, and the dogs suspected of orchestrating the attack have since been euthanized. But members of the public are still uneasy about the continued attacks by pit bulls.

Pit bulls, a vicious American cross-breed, have been banned in the United Kingdom, Canada, and numerous US jurisdictions. Trinidad and Tobago also banned the breed last year under the Dangerous Dog Act.

A 20-year study by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that pit bulls were responsible for nearly a third of all fatal dog attacks recorded, and children are most frequently attacked. The Orlando Sentinel editorial, May 24, 2013, noted that 13 of 14 (93 per cent) Americans killed by dogs in the first five months of the year were killed by pit bulls or pit mixes.

There have been several groups advocating for amendments to the antiquated Dog Liability Act and Cruelty to Animals Act.

One veterinarian called for urgent laws to deal with the illegal importation.



"The situation is now totally out of control as these dangerous dogs are now seen in every community, this is an urgent public safety issue, an animal control issue, a public health issue, and a child welfare issue," the veterinarian, who requested anonymity, said. He added that the dogs have a propensity to attack children.

There is a growing school of thought that there are no 'bad dogs, just bad owners'. Section 6 of the 1904 Cruelty to Animals Act says every person who in any manner encourages, aids, or assists at the fighting or baiting of animals is guilty of breaking the law. Could owners be charged under this law?

In the meantime, the veterinarian also wants the owners of dogs considered to be dangerous, such as pit bulls and Rottweilers, to be licensed.

"These dogs are a clear and present danger to the safety of anyone who comes in contact with them," he said.

Until then, the attacks will continue, he said.

Last year, 66 year-old Whittington Cole was ripped apart by at least four pit bulls and rottweilers and was bleeding profusely. Hours later, he died.

In February 2016, the media reported on the death of 56-year-old Jerome Pow after he was attacked by pit bulls in the vicinity of Hagley Park Road.

In July 2011, 62-year-old Valerie Stephenson, of St Catherine, was killed by a pit bull as she walked in the community. Four months earlier, in Westmoreland, eight-month-old Oshawn Obermann was mauled by a pit bull owned by his parents. He survived with serious injuries.

In December 2012, two-year-old Ronica Gregory, of St Catherine, was killed by a pit bull and her sister seriously injured. Ronica's case stood out because so many people, including managing director of the Jamaica Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Pamela Lawson, came out fighting on the dog's behalf.

Also in 2012, a woman and her 14-month-old son were attacked by a pit bull in Spanish Town. January 2, 2014, a three-year-old lost an eye after he was mauled by a pit bull in St Ann, and on January 4, 2014, a 59-year-old mechanic was mauled by three pit bulls in St Mary.