Dear Editor,
Last Saturday, driving South on Sheriff St, I noticed three kids on a donkey cart, one beating the animal with a piece of wood. I stopped the cart and two of the boys ran away but the driver remained; what followed was shocking. The poor emaciated donkey had a heavy tube around its neck, attached to a piece of sharp metal over the top of the neck and no proper padding. The metal was grinding into the flesh of the donkey’s neck. Blood was oozing from under the neck and several parts of his body, even part of the tube which had little padding was covered in blood. As though that was not enough, an oversized bit (made for a horse’s mouth) was causing a lot of discomfort as he pulled on him to move. The cart was not connected properly to the donkey, adding to its suffering.
I got out my first aid kit and showed the young man how to clean the donkey’s wounds. Then we sat and had a serious talk about what had to be done in order for this donkey to be kept healthy and how a healthy donkey could earn income for his family for a longer time. I gave the boy an ointment to put on the donkey’s cuts and bruises and advised him not to sit on the cart and pull on the reins since the big bit was causing the animal pain. He said he had a smaller bit at home and promised to put it on. He took my advice and walked the donkey back to his home in Sophia, he also promised to rest the donkey. I called the GSPCA and gave an inspector the address for a follow up visit.
The cruelty meted out to donkeys and horses in and around Georgetown is unbearable. Sometime ago a man I met at a friend’s home told me about the sad and cruel way his donkey and horse met their deaths. He lives in Sophia, and kept his donkey and horse inside his yard. His donkey did odd chores like fetching water and oil.
One morning when he got up there was no donkey, then someone came to gate and told him to “come quickly.” Someone had chased his donkey into a small trench, tied a rope to a tree branch and hung the donkey. The following day they did the same to his horse. When I asked him why someone would do such a thing he sadly said he thought it was just out of jealousy because he was getting ahead more then some of his neighbours.
Please speak out against animal cruelty. Our animals are voiceless and are suffering too much. If you see cruelty, make that call to someone who can help. The police have to do more to help our animals.
Yours faithfully,
Syeada Manbodh
