The judicial review of the sentence imposed on a man for an act of cruelty that led to his dog’s death two years ago will continue on November 20.
Attorney-at-law Lalu Hanuman, who is representing animal rights group Be Their Voice Inc. in the matter, told Barbados TODAY that while the case was set to commence on Monday, a change had to be made to the file.
“There was an application by Be Their Voice, which is an incorporated organisation now, to take on the matter. Before, members of the organisation were doing it in their names so now the action is in the name of Be Their Voice Inc. and a hearing has been set for November 20 to continue the matter,” said Hanuman.
He said this was the first time, to his knowledge, that such a matter had reached the High Court.
The head of Be Their Voice Inc., Lavern Beresford said she was concerned about the level of animal abuse in Barbados.
“Animal abuse which is rampant in Barbados, is directly correlated to human abuse so it should come as no surprise, the escalated number of shootings and other criminal acts being reported frequently. Unless our judicial system recognises the urgent need to penalise animal abuse offenders, we are definitely no closer to reform of our society,” she said.
The request for judicial review was triggered by a sentence of 12 months probation and mandated counselling imposed by Chief Magistrate Ian Weekes on 28-year-old Davino Shakell Howard after he pleaded guilty to charges of animal cruelty, failing to license a dog and withholding information. He was charged after a video of him allegedly drowning his dog, Sparky, at Pebbles Beach went viral on social media in September 2022.
Animal rights activists insist that the punishment did not match the severity of the crime.
Under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, Howard could have faced up to 12 months in prison or a fine of up to $1000. However, the Animal Health and Veterinary Public Health Act, which was introduced in 2023, increased penalties to up to two years in prison or a fine of $100 000.
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