…urges public to report abuse, plans awareness campaign
As drivers of several animal-drawn vehicles are sometimes seen striking animals (mainly horses) in attempts to increase the speed of these vehicles and engaging in other abusive actions towards animals, the Protective Areas Commission (PAC) has reaffirmed its stance on no violence towards animals.
These reaffirmed views were shared by Commissioner (ag) Jason Fraser during an interview with this publication.
According to him, the PAC does not support this in any way. His views also come on the heels of situations where people occasionally see injured animals, such as horses or cows, on the roadways and are unaware of the appropriate authorities to contact.
“Okay, well first let me say that the PAC is against animal cruelty in any shape or form, so much so that we’ve established a rehabilitation centre at the zoo. For persons who may come across such animals that need help, they can bring them to the zoo for rehabilitation and then re-release as a first thing.”
On this note, Fraser highlighted the possibility of strengthening its stance by hosting several campaigns.
Commissioner (ag) of the Protected Areas Commission, Jason Fraser
“I mean, if there’s any way that we could put out, in fact, maybe we can even start a campaign from the PAC. It’s a very good idea…against animal cruelty and against overloading of such animals. Maybe that’s something that we could consider as part of our daily reminder because we do have, but we have these different issues that we would put out there on animals and about conservation so what I’ll do, I’ll definitely include and make sure that we put out at least one post every month that highlights these issues raised.”
Meanwhile, he highlighted what the PAC is doing to ensure the well-being of animals in Guyana.
“So, one of the things that we at the PAC are doing is, one, we have a rehabilitation centre at the zoological park, so if there are any animals that need assistance and help, there’s a place for that. We have our vets in place, and we have a support system there. Well, of course, our stance is we’re completely against that. I think every animal, as a being, deserves to be treated well, and I think it’s very shameful, to be honest, that these practices happen.”
However, Fraser made it known that there is a common conversation centered around the economy of the people who use these vehicles for income.
“Of course, as you and I both know, there’s this balance between economic activity and how we care for animals. But we don’t condone violence.”
Keeping up with the PAC’s visions to ensure animals being treated properly he also highlighted ongoing activities.
‘In fact, what we are doing—this is more for domesticated animals—we have actually, outside of having the rehabilitation centre at the zoo, also established what we like to call a park for pets and animals. It’s a couple thousand square feet where people can bring their pets to enjoy freedom, if you would like to say that, off their leashes and that kind of thing.”
Enlightening more, he shed light on domesticated animals, stating that the PAC also provides injections for animals and deworming.
“We also have an ongoing activity where we team up with local vets to provide all the necessary treatments. It usually happens on a Sunday, once every quarter, right here at the National Park. We provide all the necessary injections, deworming, and these kinds of things so we are definitely pro-animal and definitely against abuse of course, we definitely emphasize that.” (G2)
