The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

AN ANIMAL welfare advocate called for a woman to be charged with cruelty after video appeared to show her grabbing a dog from a porch and throwing it to the ground following a confrontation with members of an animal welfare group.

Bahamas Humane Society advocate Kim Aranha said the footage left her “sick to my stomach” and argued that the apparent incident, which Bahamas Alliance for Animal Rights and Kindness said occurred on August 7, should result in prosecution.

“I hope they charge her with animal cruelty,” Mrs Aranha said. “It's on tape. There's no reason why she shouldn't be charged.”

BAARK described the incident as “horrific and deeply disturbing” and said it occurred after its team returned dogs to the area following a spay and neuter exercise.

In footage of the confrontation, a woman could be heard repeatedly shouting, “I don’t give a (expletive) you record,” as a man told her: “You have to spay your animals.”

The man later asked: “You gonna take care of that dog?”

The woman walked towards a home and said, “carry him back with you,” before appearing to grab a dog from the porch and throw it towards the ground.

“The behaviour witnessed was a form of animal cruelty,” BAARK said, “and is a heartbreaking reminder of why the protection of animals and enforcement of animal welfare laws are so important.”

The organisation said the episode followed a spay and neuter exercise that began on August 5, when a man stopped a BAARK van and asked its team to collect two dogs from his property on St Charles Vincent Street.

BAARK said the man provided the address and gave its team permission to enter the property.

While there, workers noticed another dog underneath a parked car on the roadway. The organisation said the animal had no collar and was not on anyone’s property, so the team took it to the clinic along with the other two dogs.

The animals underwent procedures and were returned to the area on August 7.

“It was then that a disturbing incident occurred,” BAARK said. “The dog seen in the video went onto a porch, where a woman approached, grabbed the dog and threw it to the ground while angrily carrying on.”

BAARK said it has received no response from Ministry of Agriculture officials about the incident captured on video.

Mrs Aranha said the footage raised wider concerns about animal welfare in The Bahamas.

“How can you behave like that to basically a defenseless creature,” she said, “and if she does that with a dog, then my next question is, ‘Oh please God, tell me she doesn’t have children or an elderly person in the house.’”

Mrs Aranha said that if vulnerable people were living in the home, Social Services should investigate.

She said the dog appeared shocked after being thrown but quickly returned to the woman wagging its tail, which she said reflected the forgiving and loyal nature of dogs.

Mrs Aranha also pointed to animal cruelty as a precursor to other forms of violence.

“It made me feel sick to my stomach,” she said, “because I know that she’s not the only person who behaves like that, and I know that there are hundreds of dogs out there being treated like that.”

Mrs Aranha said it was depressing to see such incidents continue, but stressed that the behaviour shown in disturbing videos did not represent all Bahamian animal owners.

“It’s so depressing to see this is still happening in our country,” she said. “You know, it makes me unbelievably sad.”

She said many Bahamians treat their animals well but those examples receive less attention than videos depicting mistreatment.

“We only see the horrible videos,” Mrs Aranha said, “and that of where animals are being mistreated, and we do need to address them.”

BAARK said its spay and neuter programme is intended to reduce the number of unwanted animals born on the streets and prevent suffering. The organisation said it is also working with the government to strengthen animal-protection laws and enforcement in The Bahamas.