Dead animals by roadside

Tue Feb 10, 2015

Editor: It is said that a healthy nation is a prosperous nation. I ask myself, “Is this a fact in St Vincent and the Grenadines today?” My answer to that is “No.” For the last few years, we have seen a lot of stray animals, mostly dogs, on the road and we wonder if these animals have owners. My next questions are: “Are the members of the health sector of this country aware of the problem that these animals cause?” and “If they are aware, what are they doing to rectify the situation?”{{more}}

Right now my biggest problem is that when these animals are knocked down and killed by passing vehicles, they are left to rot right there on the road. As I travel on a daily basis, I can see them all over this country. They look so unsightly, and to make matters worse, the stench that comes from these carcases is unbelievable. If we don’t do something about it, and do it very soon, we can have some serious health problems.

We know that our banana has been hit a terrible blow, so we are depending on tourism to be our main revenue earner. Is this the kind of picture we want our tourists to see (and smell) as they drive along our roads? What kind of message are we sending to them? Don’t we want our country to be the best tourist destination? Don’t we want that when they come here the environment would be such that they would enjoy it, want to come back and encourage others to come with them? Well, if the answers to these questions are “Yes!” then we have to clean up our act, so I am asking the Health Department to get busy.

We all have a responsibility to our country to keep it clean for this generation and the generations to come, so let us be vigilant and proactive in every respect and let us all do our job with pride and dignity for our country’s future. Remember that we do not have gold, diamond or other precious jewels. All we have is this piece of rock that God has given to us, so let’s keep it clean, beautiful and healthy for not just the tourists, but also for everyone living here.

Clifford Gould