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Inmates to help in the adoption of pound dogs
(CNS): A programme to rehabilitate prisoners through bonding with unwanted dogs was launched this week, which will not only help inmates but will also save animals that would otherwise likely be euthanized. Partnering with the Department of Agriculture, Her Majesty’s Cayman Islands Prison Service has been working for over nine months on the community programme BARK (Bonding and Rehabilitation through K-9s), through which the dogs will be given a home at the prison, where inmates will train them and prepare them for adoption, the prison said in an intergovernmental email. This type of programme has become extremely popular across the US and has proven to play an integral part in the rehabilitation of offenders. (Left: A US inmate and his canine cell mate in the New Leach on Life programme)
The inmates involved in the program will take care of the dogs’ daily feeding and walking routines. These prisoners will learn empathy, personal awareness, responsibility, career development skills and positive community involvement through the care training and rehabilitation of the rescued dogs, a brochure on the programme states.will be receiving training from local dog trainer, Kenneth Morgan, and guidance and caring tips from Juliette Heath-Mendez, along with other experienced volunteers. , but
“BARK provides an opportunity for the programme participants to give back to the community by aiding in the placement of rehabilitated shelter dogs into permanent loving homes. Upon arrival at the facility each dog is allocated to an inmate who will socialise and train each animal. The inmates are fully responsible for the dog’s feeding grooming exercising housebreaking obedience training and, of course, affection.”
Each dog will be taught basic manners and obedience skills to help them move into their new home. During their training dogs will be socialised three times daily to establish a routine, and after a few months of dedicated and consistent care the dogs, it is hoped, will be ready for adoption.
According to the prison, this program is only possible through several community partners and volunteers and will be completely dependent on the community’s support and generosity through donations of money, basic necessities such as treats, leashes and toys, as well as volunteers’ time.
“We truly believe this to be a worthy project that will have an overall positive effect the inmates, the dogs and the community,” the prison said.
If you would like to make a donation contact Juliet at juliette@fivestareventscayman.com 929 7772. Cheques can be made out to “Cayman Islands Government” with reference to HMCIPS BARK programme.
Critical Brac wetlands now under Trust protection
(CNS): Since the deregulation of Saltwater Pond as Cayman Brac’s last remaining animal sanctuary in November 2012, which was passed by the LA without a single question from any of the members, the conservation of the island’s very limited wetlands has become even more critical. However, the National Trust has announced that it recently completed the purchase of 10 acres of wetland on the South Side of the Brac (left), ensuring its preservation. Saltwater Pond was stripped of its protection under the Animals Law to allow the owner of the adjacent Alexander Hotel to address an unpleasant odour that sometimes occurs due to the decomposition of natural material. Since then a controversial plan emerged to turn the pond into a marina.
These plans, however, appear to be on hold because the hotel owner, Cleveland Dilbert, who proposed the marina development, is unwilling to pay for an environmental impact assessment, which the government has insisted upon due to the numerous red flags raised by the Department of Environment about the project. Because of this Dilbert closed his hotel on 15 June thsi year, and despite the “de-mucking” of the pond by government to help with the smell, the hotel remains closed.
However, there has been no suggestion that the protection of the pond by law be reinstated.
The decision by the government to remove the protection from Saltwater Pond prompted the Cayman Brac District Committee of the National Trust to identify wetlands in the same general area which could be protected permanently.
The purchase of the wetlands, also known as the Marshes, was made possible through the generous donations of the Trust’s annual Land Reserve Fund Donors and supplemented by funds raised by the Brac District Committee members.
“Trust members on the Brac put great effort into fundraising for this project. We are grateful to the property owner for agreeing to sell to the Trust and to the Land Reserve Donors for providing the necessary funds to complete the purchase,” said Estelle Stilling, Chairman of the Cayman Brac District Committee. “As the future for avian life on the Westerly Ponds is uncertain, given the close proximity of the airport, residents and migratory birds will be forced to seek wetland further east; this purchase makes that possible.”
The Marshes are a series of herbaceous and woody wetlands between the south coast road and the Bluff, and represents an important feeding area for water birds. This habitat, and transition habitats adjacent to it, also harbours a wide variety of local plant life.
For more information on the National Trust for the Cayman Islands, visit their website or call 749-1121.
Related articles on CNS:
Legislators defeat environment with animal law (6 November 2012)
'De-mucking' operation at Saltwater Pond (1 August 2014)
Bimini cruise dock putting reefs in peril
(CNS Business): Thetraditional livelihoods of fishing, diving and snokelling on the tiny island of North Bimini in The Bahamas are under threat from the construction of a 1,000ft cruise dock built to accommodate day trippers from Florida. Environmental activists say the silt produced during the dredging still covers the surrounding coral reefs, which will die if they are not given time to recover. Read more and comment on CNS Business
Caribbean ganja tourism up for debate
(CNS Business): Marijuana tourism is set to be debated at the Caribbean Tourism Organisation’s (CTO) State of the Industry Conference (SOTIC) next week. Richard Kildare, the deputy chief executive officer of Jamaica’s first medical marijuana company, will lead off debate on the notion or reality of marijuana tourism. Rory Johnston, a PhD student at the faculty of health sciences at Simon Fraser University in Canada, will present on the ethical and legal implications, as well as the risks associated with medical tourism. “This presentation will provide an overview of the key challenges that medical tourism poses to the operation of equitable health systems,” Johnston said. Read more and comment on CNS Business
Arrest for Solomon murder
(CNS): A 27-year-old local male was arrested yesterday evening on suspicion of the murder of Solomon David Webster (left), police said. A second male, aged 60 was arrested for aiding and abetting an offender in relation to the murder investigation. Both males are in custody at the George Town Police Station. The arrest on Tuesday 9 September was as a result of a police operation in the West Bay area involving firearms officers, Drugs and Serious Crime Task Force, K9 and Air Support. 24-year-old special Olympian Solomon Webster (left) was shot on Sunday night in Daisy Lane at around 8-30pm and was taken by his family in a private car to the West Bay Clinic.
He was transferred from the car to an ambulance en-route to the clinic. Webster was then transported to the George Town Hospital, where he later died from a wound in his groin area.
Police said Webster’s murder was not believed to be gang related.
Detective Inspector Denis Walkington is appealing for anyone with any information to contact the Incident Room at 649-3057 or George Town Police Station on 949-4222 or the RCIPS’ tip-line 949-7777 or Crime Stoppers 800-8477 (TIPS).
Related article:
Bahamas set for sweeping changes to gaming industry
(CNS Business): The government of The Bahamas has decided to go against the result of referendum and press on with the proposed comprehensive legislation aimed at regularizing the gaming industry in the country. The referendum to legalize gambling for citizens in January 2013, which cost taxpayers $1.2m, resulted in a ‘no’ majority vote. Nevertheless, Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe said the government could not avoid moving forward with regularising number houses because the Central Bank of the Bahamas warned that unregulated web shops were expected to harm the financial services sector. Casinos on the islands have applauded the proposed regulations. Read more and comment on CNS Business
Jail sentence for Cayman-based money launderer
(CNS Business): An investment advisor based in the Cayman Islands was sentenced by a federal court in Virginia Friday to 30 months in prison for his part in a $2 million money-laundering conspiracy. US citizen Joshua VanDyk (34) pleaded guilty on June 12, having been arrested in March this year. Also arrested were Eric St-Cyr (50), a Canadian working with VanDyk in Cayman, and Patrick Poulin (41), a Canadian attorney working in Turks and Caicos. They have both pleaded guilty and are due for sentencing on 3 October. The three men assisted undercover US agents posing as clients in laundering purported criminal proceeds through an offshore structure designed to conceal the true identity of the proceeds’ owners. Read more on CNS Business
First Caymanian doctor hired at Health City
(CNS Business): A former head girl at John Gray High School is the first Caymanian physician to work at Health City Cayman Islands (HCCI). The private hospital which, it is hoped, will launch medical tourism as the third leg of the Cayman economy, opened its doors in February this year and Dr Irka Lashany Ebanks from West Bay started work there 1 September, after finishing her internship in Jamaica last June. Having been away for five years taking her medical degree at the University of the West Indies, Dr Ebanks said she missed home and wanted to come back for a while. “I’m not 100% sure what I want to specialize in and wanted to get my feet wet in Cayman and see what area called me, see what I liked the most,” she explained. Read more on CNS Business
Cayman cruise arrivals up 80% in July
(CNS Business): While stay-over tourism figures showed healthy growth for July 2014, cruise ship arrivals for the month rose by 79.63% over the figure for July 2013, with more than 120,000 passengers, up from almost 67,000 last year, according to the last statistics from the Department of Tourism (DoT). There has been a steady rise in cruise arrivals over 2013, with the exception of January, but this July was the busiest since 2004, when around 123,000 people arrived by cruise ship, turning around the downward trend since 2006. Cruise passengers for the first half of the year, January through June, for the Cayman Islands were up 8.6%. (Photo by DennieWarren Jr) Read more on CNS Business
UK watchdog backtracks on blacklist
(CNS Business): In a complete about-face following its initial blacklisting of the Cayman Islands and subsequent refusal to remove the jurisdiction from its list a ‘High Risk Countries’, the Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates the UK’s financial services industry, has confirmed that the list has been removed from its website and that it does not plan to publish such a list in the future. It also has committed to a full review of the methodology that resulted in the Cayman Islands being placed on the list. Premier Alden McLaughlin will be leading a small delegation, including Minister Panton, to the UK shortly to further discuss the circumstances around this issue with the FCO and other UK government departments. Read more on CNS Business