of dog control on the Island.

Last week, Mr. Bob Nielsen called for tougher dog laws after his mongrel was savaged by a Rottweiler.

But Government veterinarian Dr. Neil Burnie said he was delighted with the powers available to him.

And he was backed by Government dog control officer, Mr. Leonard (Shinah) Simons who said Bermuda's laws enabled him to deal with dangerous dogs, from the tiniest to the tallest.

The pair are trying to allay fears that dangerous dogs are on the loose following recent stories of attacks on dogs in The Royal Gazette .

Their powers were strengthened in a September, 1992 amendment to the 1978 Dogs Act, which addressed the problems of dangerous dogs.

Dr. Burnie said the major effect of last year's amendment was that officials of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Parks were given the power to detain a dangerous dog immediately. In the past they needed a court order.

"The law cannot prevent every breach from occurring but this new amendment is designed to deal with them in an immediate and effective manner,'' he said.

It also means that a court can order that a dog be confined at home, tied to a short cable, be kept on a leash when away from home and be muzzled until proven to be behaving properly with people and other dogs.

Mr. Simons said that he had been surprised during a recent case that a magistrate used the new law to order a dog muzzled without any prompting.

Dog owners face fines of up to $5,000 for a first offence, and $10,000 on subsequent offences if they fail to keep their dogs under control.

The recent case of the Governor's terrier being attacked while seeking a pit bull bitch on heat brought in another section of the law.

The owner of the pit bull was not found and the dog was destroyed. Dr. Burnie stressed that if the owners had come forward they would have been liable to a $5,000 fine.

He said that it was illegal to allow such a dog outside confinement where it could be approached by male dogs, unless the owner had a licence to breed dogs.

Senior Magistrate the Wor. Will Francis has made it clear he intends to punish dog owners if they appear before him on charges of neglect, including allowing them to stray and worry other animals.

"The onus is now on the dog's keeper to show it is a good citizen rather than officers having to prove the dog is a bad citizen,'' added Dr. Burnie.

"We like to think that we can rehabilitate bad dogs rather than having to destroy them.'' Mr. Simons said: "A lot of cases I deal with are not because the dog is bad, but because of bad management by the owner.'' Both men said that in cases of a dog attack their aim was to prevent a recurrence and to allay public fears of dangerous dogs.

They said if any members of the public were worried about potentially dangerous dogs wandering near their homes they should contact the Department of Agriculture or their parish constable.