By Onwa Ekor, Calabar
Worried by domestic animals who roam the streets of Calabar uncontrollably, the Cross River House of Assembly, has called on the Ministry of Environment and other agencies involved in animal control, to take adequate steps to curb the menace.
The House wants these agencies to ensure that domestic animals no longer roam the streets of Calabar metropolis, hence should be restrained by their owners.
The House adopted this resolution following a motion for the sanitization of Calabar metropolis of stray domestic animals, sponsored by the Member representing Obubra 1 State Constituency, Hon Ovat Agbor.
Presenting his motion, Agbor lamented that, “all kinds of unrestrained domestic animals roam the streets constituting a nuisance and littering the streets with their droppings while destroying gardens and greenery meant to beautify the state.”
According to the Lawmaker, the menace of unrestrained domestic animals has caused several life-threatening incidents in the metropolis recently.
“Just last week,” the lawmaker stated, “a stray dog attacked a boy returning from school inflicting life-threatening injuries on him, a development which is the ultimate responsibility of the owners to accommodate and provide for these animals.”
Supporting the motion, Member representing Boki 2 State Constituency, Rt Hon Hillary Bisong, stressed the need for speedy elimination of the ugly trend which he argued, is negatively impacting the tourism potentials of the State.
In various comments, other lawmakers enumerated several disadvantages of allowing domestic animals roam the streets of Calabar and called for action to control them.
In his summary, the Speaker of the Assembly, Rt Hon Elvert Ayambem, described the motion as apt and timely, reasoning that the House would continue to ensure that the status of Calabar as the cleanest city in Nigeria, is sustained.
