Those who would poison dogs in our docile Cayman Islands
seem to have stepped up their game.
At least 10 dogs have been fatally poisoned across Grand
Cayman in the past month.
This time the killer(s) wasn’t so subtle. Whoever did the
poisoning purposefully put a large amount of paraquat on pieces of meat to
attract the dogs. Essentially, the dogs were lured to ingest the poison by
eating baited meat.
That alone is bad enough, but the amount of poison put on
the meat can be lethal to more than just animals.
Paraquat is an herbicide used to kill weeds. A toxicologist
in the US who tested the baited meet said it was pretty obvious the poison was
put directly on the meat; that there was too much on the specimen to have come
from just normal spraying to kill unwanted vegetation.
Because paraquat can be absorbed into the body through
contact with skin, a child could easily have been poisoned by picking up the
meat or even tripping and falling on it.
Whoever it is who has made it their mission to kill dogs on
Grand Cayman is also endangering children.
And they’re doing it Island-wide.
Dogs that have been taken to at least one veterinary clinic
had been brought from East End, George Town and West Bay and all showed typical
symptoms of having ingested paraquat.
Deliberately killing a dog by purposely giving them a poison
that causes a slow, painful death is not only inhumane, it’s criminal. The
poisoning issue isn’t new; it’s been happening for years and the widespread
poisonings tell us that the problem isn’t with just one offender and that there
is some kind of subculture of abhorrent behaviour at work.
These continual dog poisonings do not show the Cayman
Islands in a very good light to the international community. Pet owners need to
be aware of where their dogs are at all times and keep them on a leash when
walking them. Whoever is doing the poisoning isn’t getting paraquat from the
Department of Agriculture. They’re either bringing it in to the Islands or have
it stockpiled. Shame on them.
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The many K9 deaths are really sad. However, your article seems to ignore the real causes of these deaths. We suppose the motive of the person or persons poisoning these dogs is some sick pleasure out of seeing dogs suffer, but I would like to point out that there is another obvious reason. The carelessness of dog owners who allow their dogs to roam freely, leave droppings on the side of the road as well as trespass and leave droppings on other people’s property. Add the failure of the RCIPS to properly police the breaches of the Animals Law and the littering which occurs, and you have the makings of persons within a frustrated populace who will take the law into their own hands.
In one community in Newlands not so long ago, there were three or four dog attacks on civilians in their own property or on the public roadway.
My 3 year old child was chased and frightened by our neighbour’s dog for years up to her 6th year. They ignored our concerns and several reports were made to the police and nothing was done about it. She is now deathly afraid of dogs and emotionally scarred from the experience. My front yard was off limits to her as a place to play, because apart from the neighbour’s dog, it was also the toilet for all the dogs in the neighbourhood.
Enforce the laws and people will not have to revert to seeking their own remedies.
Patrick
There’s one thing missing from this editorial.
Anyone wicked enough to harm an animal will harm a child and will kill a human being.
Beware of anyone who does not like animals and children.
I think the RCIP should work as hard to find this animal killer as they would a uman being. The person is a cold hearted murderer. He or she must e brought to justice.
RCIP may begin their investigation by visiting businesses that sell this chemical used to poison these animals. Question who has been purchasing large quantities of the chemical. Also check with Customs to see whether the chemical was imported by an individual and not a business.
Since K9 dogs are being poisoned. I’d venture to say that the person is probably the phantom killer police is looking for in the murders and disappearances of persons gone missing since January of 2011. There disappearances. K 9 dogs have been useful in tracking down criminals and is often used by police. Why would any normal person target K9 dots? that alone is suspicious! Police should take samples of any meat or have the vets perform autopsy on the dogs, if peradventure some DNa can be found to determine just who is responsible.
I’d say this criminal wants to strike again but he wants the K9 dogs out of his way before going on his criminal quest one more time.
If the Individual imported the chemical then I’d say the police have their man.
THIS CASE IS NOT THAT HARD TO BUST OPEN IF YOU USE SOME OF MY SUGGESTIONS.
There is a bit of vital information missing in this report, as I try to make sense of all this.
Can Caycompass give any break-down on the location of these poisonings and the status of the dogs involved…meaning, were they licensed and tagged pets or were they roaming, uncared for stray dogs ?
Poisoning any creature willfully is a cruel, inhumane and criminal act but having this information might shed more light on the reasons for this despicable act.
The bigger issue that the community needs to address is education for pet owners on their responsibilities of caring for and protecting their pets…in this case, dogs.
Dogs are lovely adorable creatures, for the most part but dogs can be very dangerous animals as well, especially when allowed to roam unkept and uncared for; they become wild and violent and a threat to any community.
I cannot believe that someone is poisoning dogs out of pure maliciousness and sadistic pleasure, as this report implies; I believe there must be an underlying cause for this.
If Cayman is becoming to have a wild dog population, that needs to be addressed urgently.
I have one policy towards dogs, any dog…cared for pet or not, one I’ve had to remind dog owners of before in Cayman…
If your dog is out of control and attacks me or any member of my family, especially the children…
I WILL put this dog down myself,and not by the cowardly method of poisoning either… no questions or hesitation about it; control your dog…or lose it.
Its that simple.
I’ve had one incident years ago in Cayman where a certain family were encouraging their dog to attack and attempt to bite me everytime I had to pass their yard…it only took one serious warning for this to stop.
Police have had to shoot dangerous dogs in Britain recently and at the end of the day…
If a dangerous animal needs to be put down, then it simply has to be done…
But not by poisoning.