For years they have been roaming the streets of New Providence including the main thoroughfare, Bay Street. For years they have been barking and howling in neighbourhoods throughout the night much to the annoyance of residents. And for years successive governments have said that the problem would be controlled under their watches but the abandoned dogs still roam the streets freely creating a health and safety hazard.
So naturally, the public can’t help but wonder now if all the talk about controlling the stray dog problem in the country is just that ﾗ talk.
From a national perspective, when compared to the other islands, the stray dog problem is more severe in New Providence, where two-thirds of the population resides and the majority of visitors to The Bahamas come.
The Director of Agriculture Mrs. Valerie Outten, said the Ministry has made quite a bit of progress with controlling the stray dog problem. The spay and neuter programme involving the efforts of The Bahamas Humane Society and The Sunrise Rotary Club, which sponsors it, has been effective in reducing the number of feral dogs on the street, she said .
The programme is in its second year and has been focused in the Over-The-Hill areas for now where the problem is most severe. Stray dogs have already been captured in Grant’s Town, Bain Town, Engleston, Fox Hill and in the McCullough Corner and Kemp Road areas.
Inspector Steven Turnquest, Shelter Manager at The Bahamas Humane Society, said even though the Society is assisting the government in the programme, its main responsibility is not to control the roaming dog problem in the country but to pick up sick or injured animals.
“Our responsibility is to treat dogs that are owned by someone. And yes a lot of people call us first about stray dogs and some say they can’t get in touch with the Canine Unit so they call us looking for assistance. When we get such calls, we turn them over to the Canine Unit at the Department of Agriculture,” he said.
A stray dog can be defined as one that is in a public place while not under the control of its owner. And with such a broad definition of “stray,” Turnquest estimates that there are approximately 20,000 of these dogs on the island.
He pointed out however, that the Humane Society responds to cases involving any dog that is in distress ﾗ stray or not.
“We’ve had cases where dogs have fallen into pits near construction sites and we’ve had to rescue them. We would speak to people in the area to find out who owns the dog and then advertise it in the media. If no-one picks the dog up in 10 days, we would put it to sleep,” he said.
The vexing problem of stray dogs creates extra work for the staff at the Humane Society. Turnquest said on numerous occasions the Society has called for new legislation that would place greater responsibility on dog owners.
“In fact we’ve been trying to get amendments to the Dog Licensing Act and the Dangerous Dog Act but we have had no success,” he said.
The Humane Society, among other things is calling for The Dangerous Dog Act to include more stringent regulations regarding the breeding of pit bulls.
A new danger facing residents today is that some stray dogs are no longer the friendly, old “potcake” walking down the street but a mix breed of “potcake” and pit bull.
Some pit bull owners force these dangerous dogs to mate with non-pit bulls and then sell the hybrid puppies. The business, which remains unregulated, can generate substantial profits.
So when you see dogs roaming the streets throughout the day and night looking for food and knocking down garbage bins in the process, you could very well be seeing dogs of mixed breed.
Stray dogs can be dangerous, not only because of this cross breeding, with the more vicious of the species, but also because since they are not cared for, they could be infected with rabies, the distemper virus or other diseases.
Turnquest said he hopes the government acts now and implements proactive measures to address the problem since not only residents but many tourists call the Humane Society to complain about the dogs, often seen with open wounds and walking with a limp.
By Mindell Small, The Nassau Guardian
