Stray animals frustrating the daylights out of residents!
In an interview with this news agency, Permanent Secretary within the Ministry for Natural Resources and Labour, Ronald Smith-Berkeley, disclosed that to combat the situation, the Agriculture Department has a Loose Livestock programme, which was implemented several years ago, and has achieved some success in rounding up livestock.
And the culprits? Cows, goats and sheep, which have cost the Ministry quite a few pennies.
“It [the programme] is a very active one and the law gives the Chief Agricultural Officer (CAO) authority to seize the animals,” Mr. Smith-Berkeley stated.
The Pounds and Livestock Brands Act, 2004 authorises the Department of Agriculture to capture and impound any animal found straying in a public place or trespassing on private land.
And so far for the year, the Department rounded up 40 cows and a number of sheep and goats, confirmed CAO Bevin Brathwaite.
“We have been dealing with the animals on Tortola and Virgin Gorda, but soon we will be trying to tackle Jost Van Dyke and Anegada because they too are having a major problem as well,” Mr. Brathwaite said.
Since he took the reins a little over six years ago, the CAO has been able to get the programme “more hype” but admitted that one of the main challenges is finances.
According to Brathwaite, it would take about $50,000 annually to run an ideal operation.
The equipment and safety gear alone, he revealed, carry a hefty price tag. Items that are key include vests, specialised flashlights, rope, tranquilizer guns and darts and handyman knives.
“Let’s not forget the overtime that is attached...it can be very significant because we don’t have the staff especially for that, so we have to pull the men from other areas to pick up these animals,” he stated. “It’s a very costly programme.”
Hard work
While goats and sheep are caught with relative ease, catching cattle is somewhat an arduous task.
“Most times the men are out there in the wee hours of the morning or late afternoons looking for these animals,” Mr. Brathwaite told Virgin Islands News Online.
There is a special trailer that is designed to place the animals and most times it is damaged from the kicks and butts from irritated animals.
To capture sometimes a 1,000 pound animal, the Loose Livestock staff would have to park the truck and trailer several miles away, since the noise from the truck scares the animals away, and plough through, in many instances, dense vegetation to locate the animal (s). Notwithstanding that, the men would have to be close enough to the animal for the dart to be shot at either its neck or rump.
“We don’t ever want to shoot an animal on its leg...its hard work, because sometimes the animal begins to run before the drug kicks in. You have to understand these are not tamed animals,” the CAO said.
When asked if any of his men were ever injured, Mr. Brathwaite replied, “yes, but no major injuries, cut fingers, scraps and bumps.”
A peeved community
Many of the complaints come from Brewers Bay, Soldiers Hill, Josiahs Bay, Meyers, Diamond Estate, Great Mountain, Fahie Hill, Bell Vue, Duffs Bottom, Spooners and to a certain extent, Sea Cows Bay.
Mr. Brathwaite also revealed that a lot of complaints that come from Slaney are in relation to goats.
“They just trample residents vegetable and flower gardens and eat the ornamental plants. Then they leave the droppings...the stench and the flies is what disgust many residents,” he added. “It can be a nuisance.”
One irate Great Mountain landlord is considering fencing her property because according to her “my property seems to be the dumping ground for cows and sheep”.
“It’s unfair to my tenants. They pay to live in a clean environment...not to be subjected to a smelly situation,” she remarked.
Furthermore, the CAO said he has received many calls from a popular business owner in Anegada, who bemoaned the fact that every morning his staff has to clean up droppings left around his beachfront property.
Surprisingly, donkeys are also a nuisance on Anegada, Mr. Brathwaite disclosed. “They [farmers] complain that they eat the poultry feed.”
Albeit, none of the strays have caused any serious road accidents, it is a major hindrance to drivers. One driver told this news agency that more than once he “nearly hit one of them cows.”
Wishing to remain anonymous for the backlash, the driver said he is sometimes tempted to “kill one and have a refrigerator full of meat and hold bar-b-ques with the boys”.
As for deliberate poisoning, the CAO said he cannot recall seeing such instances.
Farmers fined?
Three of the livestock farmers that were approached refused to go on record to tell their side of the story, but one vaguely stated that he needed help in building a fence.
It was pointed out that the onus was on the farmers to keep their animals in check but the seasoned farmer sheepishly replied, “We are spoilt sometimes that we depend on Government to assist.”
The second time a farmer’s livestock is pickup up, they are slaughtered, and based on proper representation and identification from farmers, they would be paid from the funds collected from the sale with the exclusion of the capture fee. That fee varies with $100 being the highest for cattle.
Both Mr. Smith-Berkeley and Mr. Brathwaite agreed that the public play a crucial role in finding these animals, and with the Loose Livestock programme they are making inroads into the problem.
“It puts a dent, is it as effective as we want it to be? We need to have the financial backing to complement our efforts,” the CAO said, and added that he mentioned his Department’s plight at the recent Standing Finance Committee (SFC) deliberations.
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