up in kennels with virtually no light and exercise.

Shadow Environment Minister Gary Pitman said urgent steps needed to be taken to ensure that the Government dog pound was massively renovated and run efficiently.

Mr. Pitman, who has voiced concerns before about the poor facilities at the kennels, said he was in favour of tighter legislation on dog ownership, but also said the Government had to get its own house in order.

Among his suggestions was that dogs should be muzzled and additional dog wardens employed.

He spoke after The Royal Gazette reported yesterday how impounded dogs were often left for six to nine months without any exercise while they awaited court cases and held in a pound that had virtually no natural daylight.

The Island's two dog wardens spend all of their time answering complaints about possible cruelty to animals and can do little but feed the confiscated dogs and hose down their kennels.

There is nobody employed to actually exercise the dogs.

Mr. Pitman said: "It's cruelty to animals by the Government. The whole place needs to be renovated.'' But he also said more needed to be done to ensure that court cases where dogs were needed as evidence were brought forward.

"It's disgraceful for the dogs to be there that long.'' Opposition Minister Erwin Adderley also accused Government of "animal cruelty'' over the kennels' "atrocious'' state.

Last night Environment Minister Arthur Hodgson was off the Island, but a Government spokesman admitted the kennels were not ideal. He said: "We are obviously aware that these kennels are in need of an upgrade. That's why we have ordered one.