AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye San Pedro Belize Dog Eradication Controversy

All the dogs I saw behaving badly last week, had collars, but no owners appeared to be around.

I agree that Belize is not the US and should be considered accordingly. However, humane treatment of any living creature should not be a national issue, it should be a human issue. As a former animal control officer here in the States, I wholeheartedly agree that strays can be a huge issue for health and safety. But any place that has a Humane Society should first contact that (and others) entity for assistance with the problem. My bet is that with the right conversations San Pedro could have volunteer animal control officers there immediately in force to deal with this issue. Another thing that is somewhat concerning; My understanding is that San Pedro Town Council refuses to implement a licensing requirement for pets. That step alone would eliminate about 80%-90% of the problem, instead they choose to allow animals to be brought into the city without checks and balances to control populations. And please do not give me the "some folks can't afford it" speech. Licensing does not have to cost money. Someone please correct me if I am wrong on the issue of pet licensing.

Just for the sake of argument here is one scenario of how "no money" licensing could work: The Town Council create a law requiring licensing, leashing AND regarding spay and neutering.
SAGA or any other entity that is against poisoning dogs would step up to implement the program. Owners would bring there dogs into the chosen location for registration. Also, anyone moving to, staying in, or visiting San Pedro with an animal would be held to the same. Any combination of photo record, micro chip, metal tag, tattooing would suffice for recording the animal and the owner with an address of residency. When a dog is found wondering unleashed the owner would be ticketed by volunteers and/or police officers and the dog would be impounded or returned home. In the matter of inability to pay tickets; those people would do community service at the shelter/SAGA (wherever) helping in the program, cleaning the dog doo from the streets, cleaning kennels, etc.

There are thousands of dollars to be had for spay and neuter programs and if the word were to make it to the US regarding the poisonings, I think much of those dollars would flow into San Pedro. Once the issue is under control, the program would pay for itself.

Now, please don't read this as THE solution. Read this as multiple solutions. Any combination would help correct the problem and restore the city to a safer, more citizen & tourist friendly place. Did I mention the increased revenue to the city and/or police department?

What difference does it make whether its Belize, US or Zimbabwe? This is just a big red herring. The law is archaic and inhumane at best...

The town council, just like any other governing board takes all suggestions and comments under serious advisement before they make their decisions. Decisions can be heart wrenching and difficult but there is a town to run. The recent situation was due to the fact that the town was being inundated with complaints of stray/loose dogs causing problems in the Boca Del Rio area. A notice was posted on tv and broadcast on the radio and the eradication was conducted according to the laws of Belize. None of the people that were tasked with the eradication enjoyed the job - but it had to be done. The town is still receiving many complaints about problematic animals.

The town council will happily work with the humane society and if a practical, financially viable solution can be found and implemented then it will gladly be adopted. But we have to remember it must be logic, lawful (according to the laws of Belize) and funded - it must be understood that any system that is proposed and adopted must also be consistent.

A good way not to enjoy cooperation in this town is to rant and scream and threaten. Calling names, citing the laws of the US and threatening to leave with investment dollars is a case of "same shit different day" on the island. Remember all of this was a huge focus only a couple of years ago - what has changed? The humane society did really well and was focused on the problem for a year and then slowly but surely the dog problems become a noticeable nuisance again until it hit a level that the town could no longer ignore.

I love my pets. I don't love being fearful of stray packs of dogs, I don't love walking along streets and beach covered with poo and garbage strewn all over the streets.

Has anybody had a chance to looking into making the changes to the law that would be required to bring a licensing system into force? It costs money to get attorneys to look into this and write proposed bills etc but that is the way forward - to truly make changes to the laws of Belize. Perhaps hat is where all of this energy should be focused.

Shooting the messenger is an act of futility. Until the laws are changed we shall hit this road block over and over again.

Ultimately I think a dog catcher and pound will be required and I do not think we will get money for this from the government. The community will need to foot the bill and also need to provide a way for this to be financially sustainable - and then, when it is all set in place, it will have to be lawfully handed over the town councils jurisdiction.

I know all of the potential problems this all entails but we have to remember that unless there is an alternative (ie a private enterprise) that can be contracted by the town council then the town council needs to the entity that manages the dog population. And the lawful method of such "control" will continue to exercised until a true solution is found and adopted.

Interesting how this controversy goes on for pages and pages. I think many of you would have far less righteous indignation over a "poison the criminals campaign." Additionally many of you forget that the TC receives a grand total of $70,000BZ annually from GOB to deal with all of the issues of AC...

What I know from experience is that if the Town Council and the private entity are not working together on enforcement, everyone is wasting time. Recently in my city we have gone from a city run animal control unit with city employed officers and staff to a mix of privately run shelter and city employed animal control officers. This is a HUGE failure. The cost to the city has more than doubled from a budget of around $800,000 to more than $1.5 million. The lack of cooperation and the differences of opinions are killing this towns ability to control animal populations and protect the health and safety of citizens. It will happen there without 100 % cooperation from the City of San Pedro. It would be great to be the person to set-up the private animal control system there, but not without 100% City backing, in writing. As I said, it is a huge money pit without the judges, police, and law makers all on the same page. And handing it over to the city would be equally as futile. If the city is unwilling to spend the money up front to correct the current laws, how would they feel about having to run another city department?

I suppose the $70,000BZ annual budget for the ENTIRETY of AC for ALL city services escapes you..

No, I grew up in a town where the yearly budget was around $ 11,000 and is now only about $60,000 US. I understand budgeting as well as the next person. But I also understand that budgets are relative to the city itself. Considering size, population, etc. $70,000 is probably right on the city of San Pedro. But San Pedro doesn't have over 1 million people- do you understand the relativity here? Do the math. Besides, changing a law that is likely to increase revenue and solve a major problem; which by the way is costing the city money, is rarely a bad idea for a small city.

DogLady you are pointing out just some of the pitfalls that occur -even in "first world" developed nations. None of it is easy no matter where you.

There will always be a high emotional charge involved in anything to do with animals. Putting "government" and animal lovers together is the same as mixing oil and water together.

The problem with a "private" animal shelter that operates a dog pound and street catcher etc is that there simply isn't any money to be made so it makes no financial business sense to invest in such a venture. This means that animal lovers have to put their money where there mouth is to make a difference and although people are willing to to this on occasion they do not donate often enough to be sustainable. As soon as it becomes too costly or inconvenient to donate people stop. And that is why government cannot rely on these types of charity organizations.

There is no easy solution. Someone that feels strongly enough about the situation is going to have to organizes some serious money to work on writing a new bill, providing land and money to put in a dog pound facility, hire staff and come up with a sustainable financial plan to keep the facility running.