Dear Editor,
The Ministry of Human Services and Social Security (MHSSS) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Guyana should be commended for launching the toll-free 914 emergency hotline number for domestic and sexual abuse. That’s only one step. The next phase will be to set in place viable alternatives for victims to access resources to be independent from their abusers. We all know that many victims are reluctant to report these crimes since they depend on their abusers for food and shelter.
One other important hotline ought to be set up immediately: a number to report animal neglect and abuse. The government cannot continue to rely on the GSPCA and the goodwill of citizens who function with limited resources in ad hoc fashion. We need a well-formulated serious national policy to address this problem. Urgently!
As Mahatma Gandhi noted, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way in which its animals are treated.”
Yours faithfully,
Dolly Z. Hassan, Ph.D., Esq.
CEO, Dolly Hassan’s Center for
Animal Welfare
