A law on animal rights out soon

Apr 27, 2005

Mistreating animals could land you in jailsoon if a Bill on animal rights now being drafted becomes a law, writes <b>Joshua Kato</b>

Huge blue flies land and feast on two big wounds on the back of one of the bulls at Kiganda cattle market, Mubende District. The wounds are a result of beatings from a huge stick by the herdsmen to speed the cattle up to the market.
“No body has told us about the rights of animals,” says Edward Rwangyenzi, a cattle keeper in Kiganda.
He and several other people had brought cattle and goats for sale at the weekly market.
Along the Mbarara-Kampala road, a Fuso truck with 30 heads of cattle is parked by the roadside. Several horns are awkwardly pointing out through openings in the metal bars of the truck. On top, men rest their legs on the animals’ backs.
Along Bombo Road, hundreds of chicken are brought to Kampala on top of buses. They are transported for more than 400 miles from Gulu. Once the animals reach the abattoir, they are wrestled down before their throats are cut off. Pigs are hit with a club on the head until they die. The abuse of animal rights goes on and on.
In areas where animals are used for agriculture work, reports indicate that they are not properly fed compared to the amount of work they do.
“It is not wrong for the animals to do some work, but it should be reasonable kind of work,” Bart Kakooza, chairman of The Uganda Society for Care and Protection of Animals, says.
Hunting dogs that are so common in rural areas eat the worst bits of the meat, yet they do most of the important job during the hunting.
On March 22, Minister of State for Agriculture, Kibirige Ssebunya brought a bill called the Animal Rights Bill to Parliament intended to stop any form of animal torture.
“Any body found mistreating animals will be prosecuted and imprisoned if found guilty,” Kibirige warned.
The new act is intended to improve on the 1964 animal rights clause that though bans any kind of animal torture, the punishments for those found guilty of abusing animal rights are very minor. For example a person is supposed to pay sh300 or three months imprisonment.
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