Customs seize another 'Pitbull type' dog

Saturday 04 March 2017

Another Jersey resident is claiming Customs have impounded their dog after originally saying it was ok to bring her into the Island.

In a post on Facebook's Jersey Dog Forum, Veronika Mikulinova Benhakak outlines what she says happened and makes a plea for Islanders to help her.

“I write this post with the hope someone can help us. We bring to Jersey on Sunday puppy American Staffordshire terrier, customs checks everything documents and passports and they said everything was fine and they let us go. After two days we got a ring from them, so we again went there and they change their mind and said we have two options, send her back to Europe or put her on animal shelter for four months and after they will probably put her down cos they said is pitbull.”

Customs dispute this series of events and say: "..the dog in question was allowed to remain in the care of its owner at the time of importation while the necessary advice was taken out about whether the animal was likely to be of a Pitbull type. This involved examining pictures of the dog's parents that had been provided by the importer. The following day, advice was received from three independent sources that the dog was likely to be of the Pitbull type. As a result, it had to be seized."

In a press release,  Customs say it “...deals with every case on its merits, and the specific circumstances that might apply to one animal and its owners cannot automatically be assumed to apply to others.”

A similar incident happened last year when another ‘Pitbull' type dog – Mr Bronx – was impounded. After a ten-month legal fight, and a sustained social media campaign it was decided just before Christmas that the dog would be allowed to stay in the Island, but the family had to abide by strict conditions including muzzling Mr Bronx at times.