Police hunt dog owner over boy’s death
Police spokesperson Fred Enanga. PHOTO/ABUBAKER LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- Dan Matovu was last week attacked by a pack of dogs as he approached his home from Kyebongotoka Primary School in Kayunga ‘B’ Village, Mateete Sub-county.
Police in Sembabule District are hunting the owner of dogs that reportedly mauled a six-year-old boy to death.
Dan Matovu was last week attacked by a pack of dogs as he approached his home from Kyebongotoka Primary School in Kayunga ‘B’ Village, Mateete Sub County.
Matovu’s cry propelled his mother to come to the rescue, only to find her son with bite marks. He later succumbed to the wounds at the scene.
The mother filed a case at police in Mateete, who launched a manhunt for the owner of the killer dogs.
Mr Fred Enanga, the police spokesperson, on Tuesday appealed to the public to avail information about the owner of the dogs.
“If a dog owner cannot control, train and keep his or her dog, there can be very serious consequences of causing death or injuries,” Mr Enanga added.
Rabies is transmitted through dog bites and has symptoms such as fever, headache, and excess salivation. However, the disease is preventable.
According to the World Health Organisation, 59,000 people die daily of rabies in more than 150 countries worldwide, with Africa contributing to 95 percent of the deaths.
Action
In 2016, KCCA launched stray dog poisoning exercises in which about 6,000 marauding dogs were killed in Kampala.
The Uganda Society for the Protection and Care of Animals (USPCA), a nonprofit animal welfare organisation for rehoming domestic animals, started to collect all the stray dogs and give them care under one home in Mbuya.
Subsequently, the organisation has rescued more than 1,000 dogs from the streets of Kampala and an adoption of two dogs per week.
“Poisoning them is not a way to go; all animals which are abandoned need to be sheltered because I cannot leave a dog on the street suffering with no shelter, no food, and no water. They also need that care,” said Mr Alex Ocheng, the USPCA manager.
background
In September 2009, more than 20 people in Masaka District sustained wounds after they were bitten by stray dogs; and in the same year, stray dogs killed 35 domestic animals in Ndagwe Sub-county, Lwengo District.
In 2010, dogs mauled to death a 72-year-old man in Kiwenjula Village, Butenga Sub-county, Bukomansimbi District, while in 2015, eight people were, within a space of three months, hospitalised after being attacked by dogs in Sembabule.District.
