Masvingo City to Ban Pit Bulls

By Sharon Chimenya

MASVINGO City Council plans to prohibit breeding of Pit Bull dogs within the city due to associated dangers.

Pit bulls are known for their strong prey drive and potential for aggression towards other animals and people, if not properly trained. In response to the rise in attacks by dogs, the local authority has decided to assess the number of dogs raised in each household through their meter readers.

Concerns have been raised around dogs in high-density suburbs being left to roam the streets or being taken for walks without being on leashes.

Pit Bulls are kept by only a few individuals in the high-density areas and known for their aggressive nature. In these areas, it is always advisable to exercise caution when approaching them. In the latest minutes of the Health, Housing, and Environmental Services Committee, a dog with rabies was identified in the Rujeko high-density suburb, but the owner had not been identified in the report on rabies’ statistics.

The committee recommended management to lobby for legislation banning keeping Pit Bull dogs.

“On the dangers of keeping pit bull dogs in commonage, the committee deliberated at length the dangers associated with keeping the dogs. They proposed to ban breeding or keeping of Pit Bull dogs should be communicated to the Department of Veterinary Services, with a view for lobbying for legislation banning such activity.

“The committee resolved to recommend that the Town Clerk Engineer Edward Mukaratirwa be instructed to communicate to the Department of Veterinary Services dangers of breeding of Pit Bull dogs with a view to lobby for legislation regulating the activity.”

Last year, a 68-year-old security guard was mauled by four Pit Bull dogs at a business premises in Harare, and in April last year a nine-year-old girl was mauled by a Pit Bull dog in Whitecliffe.