from a friend....

Belmopan city council have announced in a press release this week that they are about to begin a poisoning (under the guise of 'stray dog eradication') programme shortly. I will try and get exact dates - in the meantime, could you warn anyone you know that allows their dog to roam that they are about to die a horrible death.

Just for the record there is a big dog pound in Belize City just after you reach Bravo Motors on the Western Highway. It is run by volunteers from the Belize Humane Society. The dogs are treated, neutered and available to responsible owners. Dogs in untreatable condition are put to sleep humanely by a vet.

from a friend...

A society can be judged by the way it treats it's animals, so if this society poisons its animals with strychnine, which causes an agonal death, this is not a civilised society.
There is no excuse, moral, financial, or for any reason, to cause such a death for animals.

...to the friend....

There are plenty of civilized societies that have governments who make poor decisions.....(Egypt)

I believe the dog eradication is an awful despicable solution, however what the government does should not reflect what people think of me or my neighbors......IMHO

I find it very sad that the Town Board in the area has not liaised with the Belmopan Humane Society on this. I'm very proud that the San Pedro Town Board work so closely with SAGA so that this doesn't happen here.

I am so confused by the posting date of this post...and have so much to say as of todays date...Feb 22,,2011 we are schedule for an eradication next week...

You are missing the point. The real problem are the dog owners who let their animals run loose. They can get into all sorts of trouble and inadvertantly consume nasty things. If the owners care about their animals they will keep them contained. It is also the only courteous thing to do for your neigbors.

Actually poolman, the real problem is that the government is not taking an intelligent or realistic approach to the problem. It has been well established that poisoning (or even mass humane euthanasia) does not work. Within approximately 18 months, the gap left by the absent dogs will be filled again. Needless to say that strychnine poisoning is dangerous not only to the dogs, but to other animals and wildlife. The WHO is opposed to this form of stray control. It is also detrimental to the environment as the bodies decompose, the chemical disperses into our waterways.

The only things that work are a combination of efforts including education, enforcement, accessible neutering and spaying (unfortunately this means that the veterinary profession has to cooperate with humane societies - but the majority have made it clear they see humane societies as competition. Fortunately there is a handful of great vets who do support humane societies but it just isn't enough) and better control of food sources such as garbage. As long as there are food sources available the dog population, cat and raccoon populations will grow to a size sustained by the resources available.

Poisoning is inhumane, pointless and does nothing to improve the problem in the long run. It certainly does not encourage responsible dog ownership - which as you point out is the crux of the problem.

The truth is the Government...I am the Director of the Caye caulker Humane Society and we are in the midst of an eradication here. With perhaps 15 problem animals they will come as they did last time and poison 50 or more dogs. Dogs on private property..on porches...not following Belize laws at all with no public notification. Dogs were dying in restaurants the next day at lunch in front of tourist. We have offered to assist with the round up of the few problem dogs and euthanize them humanly, all at our cost but Government still wants their night out hunting and last time thats exactly what it seemed to be..a boys nite out...hunting with free Hotel and meals.....a true vacation..
and yes dog owners need to be educated..but know one is poisoning them....

I rarely post anymore, based on rude people. However I can not resist when it comes to the animals. Save these animals and by all means get all them fixed. I try to wrap my head around why people dont and I don't get it. My daughter just rescued a puppy that had been abused (eye beat out) and not fed, as hard as it was for me/us we took him to the humane society. Their are good people, but sad at the same time. EVERYONE SHOULD CARE FOR ANIMALS. PERIOD.