One year in jail for animal cruelty

PEOPLE found guilty of animal cruelty can face penalties of a $100,000 fine and one year in prison. This is one of the measures proposed in the Miscellaneous Amendments Bill 2020 which will be debated in the House of Representatives when it sits at the Red House from 1.30 pm. Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi will open debate on the bill which proposes amendments to 17 pieces of legislation.

One of them is the Summary Offences Act. Clause seven of the bill proposes increases several penalties relating to cruelty to animals. Former penalties of a $400 fine or two months imprisonment for various forms of animal cruelty have all been increased to a $100,000 fine and imprisonment for one year. The offences these new penalties cover are cruelty to animals, working an animal unfit for work and bull-baiting and cock-fighting.

Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat recently spoke about these increased measures in a Facebook post. Earlier this month, a video of three men in Embacadere, San Fernando, killing a dog went viral. One of the men was smiling while strangling the animal with cable wire. Embacadere is located in the San Fernando West constituency which is represented in Parliament by Al-Rawi.

The bill also proposes amendments to the Mental Health Act to expand the category of people who can be classified as medical officers and mental health officers. Under the bill, the penalties for the failure of a financial institution or listed business to comply with a court order to disclose information required by the Financial Intelligence Unit will be a fine of $500,000 and on conviction on indictment, a fine of $1 million.

The bill will also propose an amendment to the Oath Act to remove the words “I swear by Almighty God” and replacing it with the words “I (name of person) solemnly swear”, in relation to taking an oath by raising a hand.

Wednesday is also the second sitting of the House for April. This means the Prime Minister will field questions from the Opposition in keeping with the House’s Standing Orders. The Senate is scheduled to sit on Friday at the Red House at 10 am. The main item on the Senate’s agenda is the continuation of debate on the TT Revenue Authority Bill 2019.