Animal rights advocates are calling on the government to review and strengthen laws governing the protection of animals, arguing that the current legal framework is too weak to effectively deter acts of cruelty.
According to the activists, the penalties provided under existing legislation are outdated and too lenient, allowing individuals who abuse animals to continue committing such offences with minimal consequences.
“The current punishments are not strong enough to discourage people from mistreating animals. The law must be updated to reflect the seriousness of these offences,” said Edwin Elvis Ssebyala, one of the advocates championing animal welfare.
Advocates note that cruelty against domestic animals especially dogs and cats often goes unreported. They attribute this largely to limited public awareness about animal protection laws and the penalties attached to such offences.
In Mityana District, concerns about animal mistreatment have become increasingly visible. In many communities, stray dogs roam freely in poor health conditions, with some showing open wounds or clear signs of neglect.
Despite the growing number of incidents, few lawyers specialize in defending animal rights, as most legal practitioners tend to focus on human rights cases.
The situation in Mityana prompted Ssebyala and several fellow lawyers to establish the Animal Justice Centre, a legal advocacy group dedicated to promoting and protecting the rights of animals.
Ssebyala says that although the organization has made progress in raising awareness and pursuing justice in animal cruelty cases, several challenges still remain.
“Changing people’s attitudes toward animals takes time. Many still do not realize that cruelty against animals is a punishable offence,” he explained.
Since its establishment, the Animal Justice Centre has handled several cases involving alleged cruelty against animals.
In 2025 alone, the organization pursued multiple complaints, including the recent case of Mark Mubiru, a 24-year-old resident of Mityana.Mubiru was recently arraigned before court on charges of cruelty to a cat and was remanded to Mityana Government Prison until the 17th of this month as the court continues hearing the case.
The charge is brought under the Animals (Prevention of Cruelty) Act, which prohibits any form of cruelty toward animals. The law makes it an offence for any person to beat, kick, torture, overload, or deliberately provoke an animal in a cruel manner.
It also criminalizes killing an animal in an unnecessarily cruel way.
However, the penalties under the law remain relatively small. A person convicted of the offence may face a fine of up to shs 120,000 imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months, or both.
Animal welfare advocates argue that these punishments no longer reflect the seriousness of the crime and are calling for amendments to the law to impose stricter penalties.
" We call upon the government to do some amendments in the Animal prevention of Cruelty Act as they do to other laws.This offense need serious punishment that can deter other people to engage in to animal cruelty. " Ssebyala noted.
Beyond legal action, the lawyers behind the Animal Justice Centre are also conducting community outreach programs aimed at educating the public about responsible animal care and promoting animal adoption as a way of reducing abuse and neglect.
"We are not just taking cases to court; we are teaching communities how to care for animals properly and encouraging adoption to prevent abuse before it happens," said Ssebyala.
Meanwhile, Allen Nabulya, the acting Vermin Control Officer for Mityana District, says the local government has introduced several interventions to address the problem of stray animals, although the challenge remains significant.
"Government has put measures in place to manage stray animals like we always celebrateylthe rabies day by carrying communitysensitization and vaccinating dogs againstrabies and other initiatives, but the problem is still large and requires continued effort from everyone," explained Nabulya.
According to the Uganda National Institute of Public Health, Uganda’s dog population is estimated at about 2.1 million, including roughly 700,000 owned dogs and approximately 1.4 million stray or roaming dogs.
Advocates say the growing number of stray animals, combined with weak enforcement of existing laws, makes it even more urgent for the government to strengthen legislation and promote responsible animal ownership across the country.