Cruelty to animals must end

(CNS): Animal cruelty is a disgraceful occurrence that is widespread throughout Grand Cayman. It is a state of affairs that should not be tolerated by the public.

What makes this issue disturbing is that many times it is youths doing the damage or adults treating animals brutally in front of young children. What kind of morals are these children being taught? What kinds of adults will this produce for Cayman society? The way an animal is treated surely reflects the type of person one is, and if they will pick on a young, defenceless animal, what is to stop them from moving on to greater crimes, as what sort of conscience must they have to be able to do that?

I also do not think that most people on the island know that cruelty to animals is an offence under clause 70 of the Animals Law (Revised) liable on summary conviction to a fine of $4,000 and to imprisonment for one year. If you see animal abuse going on, don’t hesitate to call the police. Anyone can help save an animal from further torment with just one call — if you don’t want to call the police, call the Humane Society at 949-1461.

Most of these poor animals are being bred by irresponsible owners or, despite free spay and neuter, not being brought into the Humane Society for the procedure, so they have puppies which are then left to die chained up to a tree, get abused and become emaciated.

In the tropics many diseases are present, some which are zoonotic (transferable between animals and humans), and too many people are letting dogs become sick and not bringing them in for treatment and/or leaving them to die where parasites find the soil to thrive in and find new hosts. The Humane Society and others on the island are even willing to foster and take these animals under their care to give them a better chance in life.

We are obligated to do something as it is people that brought these animals to the island and made this a problem. We are the reason these animals suffer.

There are many issues in Grand Cayman, but this is also an important one as the reputation of the island also depends on it. Mahatma Gandhi said, "A society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable…The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man."

I myself have lived in many places in the world and must say Cayman is on the top of the list for "in your face" cruelty to animals.

In such a small island where so many people can be reached there is no excuse not to educate the public to let them know that it is an offence to abuse and neglect animals, to let them know there are people who care enough to do something about it and help, and that it is unacceptable to witness and allow anyone to indulge in such morally repugnant behaviour.

To express the extent of the cruelty, I feel its best to give some examples.

The first is Sarge, who was found (as pictured left) flea infested, dying of dehydration, starvation (weighing 17lbs) and heartworm on the side of South Sound Road with his companion and puppies, who had been thrown out by their owner, an elderly woman. He had been tied to a tree his entire life and cannot walk properly as a result. Someone kindly took him in, at which time he was only given a few weeks to live, but it has now been over a year.

Sarge before…………..Sarge now at 60lbs!

Another dog was tied to a tree so tightly that the rope cut into his flesh. When he was found his bone was exposed and so badly infected his leg had to be amputated. An old, deaf and almost blind dame, Ruby, was found on the side of the road, thrown out for a younger dog. She had been hit by a car that left her to die, and despite love and care from a foster parent, eventually died from brain haemorrhaging which was the result of a tumour that formed as a consequence of being hit by the car.

A dog had acid thrown in his face…for fun! Some kids thought it was amusing to see such suffering. By the time the dog got to the vets the acid was turning his bones into mush and he had to be put down. I won’t post a picture of this as it is too graphic, but I am sure you can imagine the suffering and pain he felt.

A mother and her puppies were found after begin thrown in gasoline and bleach as treatment for mange. The mother had scars all over her face from having stones thrown at her by children, whom she has been terrified of since. This is one of the puppies before and after treatment:

The most recent story is that of a 2.5 month old puppy that was being tormented and abused by a group of young children. Someone rescued him and he will now be fostered by a volunteer and treated for an infection he had been suffering from whilst being abused by these kids. The kids managed to fracture his skull! Lucky