The culture of cruelty towards animals was recently highlighted when a 14-year-old wrote to The Tribune about his visit to the Bahamas government's Canine Control Unit (the "pound"). In his letter to the Editor, he gave horrific details about the way the animals are treated, telling of feces covered kennels, starving, diseased animals locked up with no food or water and even a live dog kept in a cage with one that had died.
The gut-wrenching letter provoked public outrage and outcries from activists. The Tribune followed up on the matter by visiting the Canine Control Unit in the first ever public tour of the facility.
Their ensuing article provided further horrifying details and put much needed focus on the reprehensible culture of cruelty towards animals that has been a societal cancer of the Bahamas for decades.
The Tribune's article further stated: "Legislation requires the animals to be kept alive for at least four days to give owners an opportunity to collect their pets, but as the majority of dogs are brought to the pound at their owner's will, it is an unlikely outcome for the poorly-treated pets."
Further, due to a severe lack of funds, resources and staff, unwanted animals are doomed to spend their last days in abject suffering.
Godfrey Springer, a veterinarian from the Department of Agriculture and Marine Resources, who euthanises the animals, said, "It's not easy for me as a vet to put animals to sleep but it's a public health issue; it's creating a risk to public health and as a country we have to remove the disease element from the population."
Dr. Springer told The Tribune, "We need responsible animal ownership. Dogs are living things, they need to be fed and watered, and to be housed in a comfortable home. They need to be seen by a veterinarian at least twice a year.
"They should not be tied up so the rope around their neck cuts into their skin, and they should not be roaming into neighbours' yards or in the streets."
NOTE: This article was edited by the BahamasB2B Admin on 16, October, because it erroneously pointed to the Bahamas Humane Society, instead of the government-run Canine Control Unit. Bahamas Humane Society personnel are involved with the Tribune newspaper in monitoring the mandated changes at the Pound.
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The gut-wrenching letter provoked public outrage and outcries from activists. The Tribune followed up on the matter by visiting the Canine Control Unit in the first ever public tour of the facility.
Their ensuing article provided further horrifying details and put much needed focus on the reprehensible culture of cruelty towards animals that has been a societal cancer of the Bahamas for decades.
The Tribune's article further stated: "Legislation requires the animals to be kept alive for at least four days to give owners an opportunity to collect their pets, but as the majority of dogs are brought to the pound at their owner's will, it is an unlikely outcome for the poorly-treated pets."
Further, due to a severe lack of funds, resources and staff, unwanted animals are doomed to spend their last days in abject suffering.
Godfrey Springer, a veterinarian from the Department of Agriculture and Marine Resources, who euthanises the animals, said, "It's not easy for me as a vet to put animals to sleep but it's a public health issue; it's creating a risk to public health and as a country we have to remove the disease element from the population."
Dr. Springer told The Tribune, "We need responsible animal ownership. Dogs are living things, they need to be fed and watered, and to be housed in a comfortable home. They need to be seen by a veterinarian at least twice a year.
"They should not be tied up so the rope around their neck cuts into their skin, and they should not be roaming into neighbours' yards or in the streets."
NOTE: This article was edited by the BahamasB2B Admin on 16, October, because it erroneously pointed to the Bahamas Humane Society, instead of the government-run Canine Control Unit. Bahamas Humane Society personnel are involved with the Tribune newspaper in monitoring the mandated changes at the Pound.
15 Comments Add this link to... Bury
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T H Martin, I am also one of the victims of the Bahama Time Share Swindle....
Parents, citizens, I pray you're paying close attention to this. The...
The atrocities occur at the pound, which is RIGHT NEXT DOOR to the Humane...
The article is refering to the inhumane and horrible conditions at the...
Hi Robin: I apologize for being upset about the bad press. I should be the...
Comments
I hear lots of talk about the "underfunded" Humane Society. I did not see any financials on their website. I know, as a non-profit organisation, they are required by law to publish such info. I wonder how one might get a copy of the latest annual report.
Hello Buckles: The phone number for the Bahamas Humane Society is 323 5138, I thought that you would look that up in the phone book.
I do NOT intend to give out Mr. Thomson's HOME (as treasurer he is a volunteer) phone number.If you give me your phone number I would be happy to call you, or you can send me your phone number on bhscruelty@gmail.com and we will call you.
If you note our website is not terrible advanced, I just checked the National Trust website they do NOT have their financials posted. I am sorry that you feel that coming into the society is jumping through hoops, we would be happy for you to go to the BHS and show you the financials, we are not trying to hide anything. I don't know who has said what to cause you so much concern...Thanks for you time
Kim Aranha, president of the BHS
You do not need my name to leave a phone number. I shouldn't have to attend your AGM or jump through hoops to get your financials. They should be posted on your website. Transparency, please.
All you have to do is phone the Bahamas Humane Society and ask to talk to Donna Kiriaze, she is our accounts person, equally you might like to talk to Bill Thomson our treasurer. If I knew who you were I would give you his number, however I can't do that if I just see you code name.
I hope the unfunded in inverted commas does not imply that you think that we are super rich and only pretending to have a struggle to make it....anyway what ever was intended, if you have your doubts about anything. I would be happy to talk to you once I have a name.
Kim Aranha, President of the BHS
P.S.
If you had attended our AGM you would have had access to them there!
I apologise for the problems my error has caused. I am a frequent poster on BahamasB2B but am not associated with them. The fault is mine. I have lived in Nassau all my life, but surprisingly enough, never knew there was a separate Government Pound, particularly since the Pound is also located in Chippingham. Unfortunately, I know that I am not the only one who didn't know the Pound is not the same as the Humane Society. Having always thought well of the Humane Society I am pleased to learn that it is not there where these inhumanities are occurring.
Hi Robin: I apologize for being upset about the bad press. I should be the bigger person, and I am personally, but when it could affect the opinion that people have on a situation the affects 100's of animals, I am perhaps sensitive.
You are right, I have not been familiar with B2B for the past decade, and should be I guess...i will try to be a better person, more understanding, with the help of God all is possible!
Kim, it is not fair for you to have a bad attitude towards BahamasB2B. What did they do wrong? They responded to your concerns immediately. Would you demand an apology from a radio station for a factual error made by a call-in listener? Like the Humane Society, BahamasB2B is an underfunded community organization that has provided the Bahamas a tremendous service for nearly a decade. You should be cultivating a good rapport with them instead of attacking them.
Thank you Ella, it is nice to know somebody is big enough around here to apologize.It is a constant struggle to have people know the difference between the pound and the Bahamas Humane Society, and to make it even worse they are located very close to each other. I really appreciate you coming out and talking about your mistake. Come and visit our shelter some time we would be happy to show you around...
Kim Aranha, President of the BHS
You many not consider that that you owe "no apology to anyone", however, under the circumstances I personally feel that it would have been a nice and responsible gesture to express, at the very least, your regret for allowing a hugely inaccurate piece of reporting to be posted under your watch. Do you allow just anybody to say anything? Do you have any idea how much damage an article like that can cause the Bahamas Humane Society should people believe what was written? I can only hope that few people logged on and read what was written, and again, if I were in your shoes I would feel regret that something I was involved with could have caused such distress! Kim Aranha, Pesident of the Bahamas Humane Society.
Thank you for your feedback. I think it goes without saying that we regret any inconvenience the article caused the good people at the Humane Society and wish the error had been discovered earlier. We responded as fast as technically possible once the error had been brought to our attention. Please feel free to add any articles you would like that highlight all the good things the Humane Society does for animals in The Bahamas. Thank you for visiting BahamasB2B.com.
It is NOT the Bahamas Humane Society where these horrors are occuing, but rather at the Government Pound nearby.
Please remove or edit the post above as it could severly hurt the efforts of the Humane Society and others to get conditions improved at the Goverment Pound.
Thanks for correcting the article so quickly!
Your web site needs to immediately apologize to the Bahamas Humane Society and set the record straight. It was NOT the Bahamas Humane Society where these horrifying conditions were found it was The Government Canine Control Unit (The Pound). The Bahamas Humane Society continues to do a wonderful but often under appreciated job helping animals throughout the Bahamas.
Thank you DBK for your support, it's not as if we don't have enough problems with being shot in the foot by inaccurate reporting...I appreciate your kind words.
Kim Aranha
Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Once we were made aware of the error in this article we immediately made the necessary changes. However, BahamasB2B owes no apology to anyone as all we do is allow the public to post news articles.