An SPCA inspector said the list on banned dogs was not complete and other breeds like German Shepherds could be added.

But Philippa Mello pointed out Government's move to ban certain breeds of dogs was temporary.

Last week, the Environment Minister Dennis Lister announced that his Ministry would no longer issue breeding licences or import permits for dogs that it deemed potentially dangerous, including Pit Bulls, Staffordshire Terriers, several of the Mastiff breeds, Australian Dingoes and Akitas, or crossbreeds of them.

Speaking at the Rotary Club luncheon on Tuesday, Ms Mello said the Government should be looking at educating dog owners and breeders, rather than banning certain breeds.

"We support the ban and we don't support the ban. Dogs need to be socialised and trained and we are concerned that it will send breeders underground and we don't want to see dogs abused."

Ms Mello said the public needed to look at animal welfare, which would ensure that animals were well looked after and cared for.

"Good welfare does not necessarily mean living in the lap of luxury, however it examines a number of factors and adds them together to find a point on a scale," she said.

"It is unlikely that a dog that is being used for fighting or is not fed regularly would stay in that place of cruelty or neglect, if it were not held there by a length of boat chain."

"There was a strong contrast between animals that live in the lap of luxury, and those who are investigated and taken over by the SPCA because of the state of neglect in which they may be living.

"As with anything else, animal welfare and opinions on it are on scale from very low to very high, and what is found to be an acceptable level for one person may be considered unsatisfactory for another."

She said: "One major example of this is the owning of dogs where the dogs are kept outside chained up - they are fed, have water and have shelter and these things are essential to life.

"However a person who keeps their dogs as part of their family, where the dogs live in the house and have food, water, shelter and time with a family, have a higher level of welfare than a dog just kept on a chain."

Ms Mello added animals had little input into who owned or cared for them, and in some cases if given the choice they may choose to live somewhere else.

"Animal welfare issues that are relevant to Bermudians are dogs, illegal litters, fighting, strays, inappropriate tethering, starvation, heat stress and feral cats," said Ms Mello.

"The concerns with carriage horses are shelter, rest, hours of work, lameness and their quality of life outside of summer.

"The importation of exotic species, knowledge of appropriate care, environmental, intensive farming of large animals, adequate space, appropriate care, diet and shelter.

"Some people compare the care of an animal with a wild type, others compare it with themselves in the same circumstances.

"There are five aspects that affect an animal, environment, nutrition, health, behavioural and mental pain or stress." Ms Mello said the duty of Government was to create and maintain laws that governed the care of animals and to instigate stronger regulations governing the care and protection of animals.

It was also to bring in minimum standards for care and greater penalties for offences. This would bring Bermuda more in line with many other countries.

Government animal wardens were responsible for enforcing general laws for the care and protection of animals plus the control of stray animals.

She said the SPCA wished to see greater promotion of animal welfare in schools and education, so that future generations would have a greater base of knowledge from which to think, prevent and protect both themselves, friends, family and animals.

She said Mahatma Gandhi once said: "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."