Point Fortin hospital horror stories

AS employees of the Emperor Valley Zoo visited the Point Fortin hospital today to check for snakes on the compound, more horror stories from the facility emerged.

Newsday visited the hospital and met with staff who revealed that in addition to a snake infestation, there has also been an ongoing issue with pigeons, flies and even a corbeaux which flew into the kitchen where meals were being prepared for patients.

Staff said they have been complaining about the birds and flies in the kitchen for almost a year and they have been asking for three screen doors to be installed. There requests have been met with a negative answer. “They always say they don’t have money to buy the screens and install them,” a staff member said.

The corbeaux, Newsday was told, flew into the open kitchen door a few months ago and had to be chased out with a broom. “We can’t close the doors while we are in here because there is only one window for ventilation, so we will cook ourselves if we have to lock up. The corbeaux was sitting on the fence and watching for a while before he decided to fly in.”

President of the Zoological Society (ZSTT) Gupte Lutchmedial confirmed that two zoo employees visited the hospital to check for snakes. Lutchmedial said based on the description and photos provided by staff, the majority of the snakes found on the compound in the past six weeks have been identified as the vine or horse whip snake. He said while these reptiles may strike at people, they do not have teeth or fangs to bite and are not poisonous.