By Gerald Miller, Freelance WriterWESTERN BUREAU:
DESPITE HAVING a pound at its disposal, the Westmoreland Parish Council is still facing the perennial problem of stray animals roaming its streets, as it does not have a truck that is properly equipped to remove these animals.
In lamenting the sad state of affairs with the stray animals, Savanna-la-Mar's Mayor, Councillor Ralph Anglin, told The Gleaner that the Council was fully committed to removing the animals but was being hampered by their inability to acquire a truck that is equipped for that purpose. "We are trying to get a truck that can load them (the animals) anywhere but we have not been successful to date," said Mayor Anglin. "We stand ready to cart off these stray animals to the pound because we need to get them off the streets."
In addition to the need for a properly equipped truck, Mayor Anglin also wants Government to change the law in regards to how stray animals are dealt with. According to him, under the current Pound Laws, impounded animals have to be kept for two weeks before they can be auctioned. "Keeping the animals for the mandatory two weeks is a burden on the Council, as we are left with responsibility of feeding these animals," said the Mayor. "In addition, there is no market for cows and if a market is identified, the prices are usually unattractive."
In keeping with his desire to see the impounded animals disposed of as early as possible, Mayor Anglin said that he is hoping that the current Parliament to amend the Pound Laws, which will permit the Council to kill the animals as soon as that they have been impounded.
According to him, the meat could be given to infirmaries. Under a joint venture between the Westmoreland Parish Council and the Frome Sugar Factory, a pound was constructed on lands owned by the factory in 2001. The $1.3 million facility, which was constructed on six acres of land, features six pens and a caretaker house. Water and electricity were installed by the Council.
However, with no trucks to transport stray animals to the pound, they remain a nuisance in towns such as Savanna-la-Mar, Whitehouse, Sheffield, Big Bridge, Farm Pen and Frome.
