Lack of resources cripples Stray Catching Unit

As the rainy season steps in, farmlands tend to become flooded resulting in animals wandering on the roadways which pose a hazard to drivers, especially in the evenings. With such an occurrence, the Stray Catching Unit of the Public Security Ministry should be activated but due to the lack of vehicles, the Unit cannot effectively carry out its functions.
This is according to a senior source attached to the Ministry who reminded Guyana Times that a few months ago, the Unit was down due to some issue which was not detailed; however, it is back up and running to a point.
When questioned specifically about the availability of vehicles, Guyana Times was told, “It’s a work in progress you know. It’s a work in progress because of the length and breadth of Guyana that we have to cover where it concerns protecting the environment, protecting citizens from animals on the road and all of that and crops on the road [so] the Department is currently working to bring it up to par to where we want it to be”.
With stray animals wandering the streets more frequently to the point of it being a norm, motorists have been fuming as they would usually have to sit in their vehicles to allow an animal, or in some cases, animals to cross the road. They believe that this phenomenon poses a threat to their lives and vehicles too, especially at this time of the year when vision is interrupted by heavy rainfall.
With this in mind, the regional administration of Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) in collaboration with the Municipality of Anna Regina had taken the decision to launch a new campaign targeting the numerous strays that line the roadways posing imminent dangers to motorists and other road users back in March.
In 2017, due to inclement weather conditions, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan had urged motorists to exercise caution on the roadways as the Stray Catching Unit of the Ministry was asked to relax its efforts in light of the weather conditions affecting cattle farmers.
This call by the Minister came in light of an incident in Corentyne, Berbice, which left six persons injured after the taxi in which they were travelling swerved to avoid hitting a donkey and ended up toppling several times before coming to a halt.
More recently, Ravindra Nazamoodin, of Number 56 Village, Corentyne, Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), was killed in November of last year when the motorbike he was riding collided with a cow on the Corentyne Highway at Number 55 Village.
The animal was also killed in the accident.
The Stray Catching Unit was launched under the People’s Progressive Party in 2011 under the Home Affairs Ministry. The 2011 budget had made provisions for the rehabilitation and construction of new pounds that would cater for holding the animals caught.
In April 2010, the Pounds Amendment Bill was passed in the National Assembly. Part of it states that a fee of $5000 will be paid to a stray catcher or any other person for every animal they take to the pound. These animals include horses, ponies, cows, sheep, and goats.