Justice for murdered dogs, please

A few mornings ago, I exchanged salutations with a pleasant male pedestrian. As we chatted, I sought his opinion on a serious issue that must not be allowed to fall through the cracks.

“Did you hear about the recent murders of dogs in Tobago?” I asked, curious to know if the average Tobago man/woman-on-the-street was aware of the atrocities.

“I heard about the recent murders of humans in Tobago – but not dogs!” he responded, shocked.

I enlightened him: “In the past few days a pet dog was chopped to death, while sleeping, in Roxborough. A dog was fatally shot through its heart with a pellet gun in Crown Point. A dog’s head was bludgeoned while it slept in Scarborough. A dog that was missing was found dead at the roadside. The vet deduced that it had been poisoned.”

“Oh God, meh pores raise!” the man exclaimed, shaking his head. “I have a dog. If a stray come in my yard, I go clap it out with meh hands. But some people ignorant. They will pelt a big stone or chop it.”

I asked if he had heard about the recent increase in fines and jail terms for animal cruelty. He had not, so I informed him: “$100,000 and one year in jail.”

“Wheyyy!” he exclaimed, acknowledging that animals are worthy of protection. “God made them.”

Later, I passed an establishment that has what I thought is a constantly leaking pipe. Every morning I see water spraying from it, wetting the sidewalk. Wondering how no one had either fixed the leak or reported it to WASA, I called the company twice about it.

“We will get someone to look into it,” I was told on both occasions.

That morning, for the first time, I saw a man outside the building. I asked him about the leak. He smiled, explaining that it is a timed feature for wetting the foliage.

“But thanks for caring enough to stop and ask about it,” he said.

As he was so pleasant and we were on the topic of caring, I asked if he had heard about the recent murders of Tobagonian dogs.

He looked taken aback. “No!”

“Tell me how you feel when you hear about each case,” I said.

For each case I recounted, he said very firmly: “Evil.” There was no other word he could find for what he was hearing.

“Those people need counseling,” he said. “And they need to be attached to God. No Godly hand would do that. That has to be idle hands and Satan finds work for idle hands. It’s basic – a dog is man’s best friend and anyone who can’t treat it like that not fit to even be near it.”

These four cases mentioned are but a few of multiple crimes continually committed against animals in Tobago. They were featured on a televised newscast and in a subsequent news article. While more can and should be done by the media to highlight the severity and frequency of such offenses, the fact that they were reported shows some progress.

Questions arise:

How many people in Tobago have heard of or read these news reports? How many who have care?

If they care, what (if anything) are they moved to do to seek justice? How many people report animal cruelty to the police? How many policemen follow up on reports?

The media states: “Police are investigating.” What does that mean? Where have investigations reached? When will the promised and urgently needed Animal Protection Unit of the police be established?

How many people (police included) know about the amended legislation against animal cruelty, proclaimed law as recently as May 11? When will we see enforcement of this legislation? Which case will stand as an example of what needs to be "the new normal" for local animal protection?

The "old normal" was that someone could maim or kill an animal and either walk free or (rarely, if ever) be fined a mere $400.

The world is increasingly focused on ensuring rights for vulnerable groups – which include animals.

Where do the THA and TTAL stand on the serious issue of animal cruelty/murder in this "island paradise"?

Any efforts to resurrect a dying tourism industry could be futile unless (among other things) Tobago can prove to its largely animal-loving foreign market that there is active commitment to ensuring the highest standards of animal welfare and protection.

Justice has to be served.