Banned dogs flown to new homes in the US
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A group of dogs await their flight to the United States (Photograph supplied)
A total of seven banned dogs have been flown overseas in a bid to find them new homes in the United States.
The move is a last-ditch attempt to find an alternative to the animals — all pitbull type dogs — being put down and came after Walton Brown, Minister of Home Affairs, contacted an American animal charity.
Mr Brown said: “All of these dogs are illegal dogs and have come into our custody over the past few months.
They are all pitbull type dogs and therefore a prohibited breed which cannot be rehomed locally.
“We will assess how this method works and go from there.”
But he added: “I think it would be very helpful to have this avenue to export animals going forward.”
Mr Brown said: “It’s been an incredible team effort to save these dogs. The dog wardens have worked tirelessly to care for these dogs since they came into their care.
“They handled the daily care of the dogs, the vaccinations, securing the transport crates, socialising some of the dogs and preparing the dogs for transportation.”
The mercy flight came as a result of a partnership between the Ministry of Home Affairs and Angels Helping Animals, a Massachusetts-based animal rescue organisation.
Mr Brown contacted the charity several months ago due to a growing number of prohibited dogs held by the island’s animal wardens.
A spokeswoman for the home affairs ministry said that flying dogs off the island was expensive.
But she added that Angels Helping Animals had pledged to cover the costs with the help of donations and the work of volunteers in Bermuda and the United States.
The dogs left Bermuda for Newark, New Jersey, on a cargo plane on Tuesday night and were handed over to Angels Helping Animals on arrival.
Breeding pit bulls has been illegal in Bermuda since 2003.
But Mr Brown has signalled that Government is examining the island’s dog legislation and two public meetings on the subject were held last October.
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Published Jan 3, 2018 at 11:33 am (Updated Jan 3, 2018 at 11:33 am)