Not the happiest topic for my first post of 2013, but something I've blogged about before is the continued risk to our four legged friends in the Cayman Islands of poisoning with paraquat - a weed killer.
Several news sources are reporting that at least four dogs have been poisoned over Christmas as a result of ingesting paraquat at beaches (probably as a result of food being laced and left). There could of course be more unreported cases during this time.
I now only take my mutt to one or two beaches where I think she'll be safe which is a shame. I did have a scare last night where I caught her munching on a discarded chicken bone, but managed to grab it and chuck it in the bin. I count myself (and dog) lucky that it wasn't poisoned.
Why are people intentionally leaving poisoned meat to hurt (or more likely kill) dogs? I honestly don't know, perhaps not every dog owner is a responsible owner, perhaps not everyone cleans up after their dog, or ensures that they're dog is neutered if they can't afford to keep a litter, or perhaps some people hate dogs so much that they want them to die in a very slow and painful way.
There are a lot of strays on island and the Cayman Humane Society (who do a great job) is always full of very sorry looking dogs.
What I do know is that there are better (and far more humane) ways of dealing with the annoyance of dog mess and strays. Education, fines for not clearing up dog mess and licences to own animals to name but a few.
The more positive news is that a petition has been signed by around 10% of the population of the Cayman Islands to ban the import of paraquat. I hope that 2013 is the year that this happens.
More on the Cayman Compass.
May be moving ourselves. Would love to ask some questions if you have time. martha@arda.net Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHey there, I sent you an email :)
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