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Photo by Tesi Johnson Danny Melville (left), chairman Chukka Caribbean Adventures, Carrole Guntley (second left), director-general for Tourism Board, and Dr. Paul Turner, senior veterinarian at the JSPCA, watch as Minister of Tourism, Entertainment and Culture, Aloun Assamba, officially opens Chukka Caribbean Adventure's Dog Sled Tour, last Friday.

Janet Silvera, Hospitality Jamaica Coordinator

The Veterinary Medical Association of Jamaica is calling on the Government to remove the archaic laws governing the entry of dogs into the island.

In a letter to Minister of Tourism, Entertainment and Culture, the Hon. Aloun Assamba, the association, through St. Ann businessman Danny Melville, said it is lobbying for an easement in the law as it relates to quarantine.

"The laws are so ridiculous and they have been on the books since 1948," Melville told a gathering of dog lovers who were on hand to witness the unveiling of the historic Dog Sled Tour at his Chukka Caribbean Adventures attraction.

Currently, the law states that dogs imported into the country must come from the rabies-free countries - England and Northern Ireland.

fear of rabies

Rabies, otherwise known as mad dog disease, is a viral zoonotic disease that causes acute encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) in mammals.

As a result, Jamaica has not enjoyed the growing trend of tourists travelling with their dogs and it is reported that many returning residents have had to leave their 'best friends' in another country because of the stringent measures and inflexibility in the law.

Melville argues that Jamaica's competitors the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, the Bahamas and Barbados are more flexible when it comes to animals.

"If a wealthy tourist arrives in Bermuda, that person can bring their dog." He argues that with modern state-of-the-art technology, any diseases the four-legged animal may have can easily be detected.

His comments received support from senior veterinarian of the Jamaican Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (JSPCA), Dr. Paul Turner, who said that because the laws were so archaic, people were beginning to import dogs illegally into the country.

"It is time to revamp the law, because based on technology we can have full information on the dog/dogs coming into the island from any other country."

He said the dogs would not be allowed without full veterinary certificate. Research has shown that a growing number of hotels, inns, and resorts are capitalising on Americans' love for their pets. According to a poll by the Travel Industry Association of America, 14 per cent of adults in the U.S. refused to leave their best friends at home while on trips in the past three years.

Almost four in five of them travelled with their dogs (cats were a distant second, but three per cent took rabbits, ferrets, or fish), while 29 per cent stayed in hotels or motels with their pets, the poll noted.

Some hoteliers now pamper four-legged guests with over-the-top services, while tour operators offer dog-friendly versions of itineraries they would normally have done for their regular guests.

For pets who prefer an Atlantic crossing, Cunard's Queen Elizabeth 2 has obliged, said one report in the travel press. It stated that the QE2 allows canines on board in a shielded open deck area for an extra $500, while cats and birds are $300 and $200, respectively. And just so an ocean-bourn dog feels at home, he'll find a fire hydrant and lamppost on deck.