STRAY ANIMALS ON STREETS OF TAMALE, A DORMANT NUISANCE

Stray animals on the principal streets of Tamale are becoming a nuisance to pedestrians and motorists. Goats, sheep and cattle are seen all over the metropolis including the busy business district. The animals are not only a nuisance to the public; their presence is also un-befitting of a modern metropolis. Their presence cause vehicle and motor accidents, while some cause financial loss to traders in the market when they topple over their grains and other foodstuff. The owners of these stray animals are nowhere to be found and one wonders if some of these owners exist at all. Both pedestrians and motorists lament over how stray animals on the streets cause unnecessary traffic and panic on numerous occasions. Some residents also rescue these stray animals and take them to the assembly where they are kept and announcements made for their owners to come and pay a fine before collecting their animals. According to the Head of Administration at the Tamale central sub metro assembly Blaise Dasanah said the assembly as the local authority has its by-laws that bind the operation of the metropolis, and that act of leaving animals to stray goes against the by-laws. He said the assembly enforces the fee-fixing regulation of the local government ministry that covers the arrest of stray animals especially on the principal streets, how the arrests should be done, and the fee stipulated for the kinds of animals arrested. He added that since the fees charged for a ruminant is 30Ghana cedis per day and a cow is 50Ghana cedis per day the problem should have been curbed, but the animals are still very much on the principal streets, this he said is due to the attitude of the owners of these animals who do not seem perturbed by the high charges on the arrested animals. Mr. Dasanah said the task force mandated to arrest these stray animals are up to the task and very vigilant in their duties but it will take a joint consensus from residents of Tamale and the authority to curb this canker totally.    It is quite ironic however that down south these animals are very expensive and so are hardly seen gallivanting on the streets. One wonders if it is because animals are in abundance in the northern region, and the question that still lingers however is, what effective solution should be proposed to end this menace if payment of fines is not enough?