By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE case involving the death of Whitehead, a pregnant pit bull that died as a result of an illegal caesarian performed by an unlicenced “street vet” in Freeport earlier this year, is at a standstill due to the absence of a complaint and lack of sufficient evidence.

The matter was brought to the attention of the Veterinary Board at the Department of Agriculture by the Veterinary Medical Association in New Providence, which condemned the incident that happened in May.

The tragic story of Whitehead, a four-year-old pit bull terrier, and the subsequent death of her eight puppies, has highlighted the serious concern of illegal medical procedures and vaccinations that are being performed in the Bahamas by people who are unlicenced and unqualified.

Veterinarian Dr Godfrey Springer, a member of the Veterinary Board, said the group is the governing body that recommends persons to practice veterinary medicine in the country.

He said the case of Whitehead is unclear and there have been no further developments as to who the responsible party is.

“We need to have a name of the person, and I can’t go on speculation regarding who did it. So that is why the case is so blurry at this juncture of the matter,” he told The Tribune.

Dr Springer said it is considered illegal for people who are not eligible to practice veterinary medicine to do so, as in the case of those connected to the Whitehead incident.

However, he stressed in order to bring a case to court one would need to have evidence of such parties who were engaged in such a matter.

According to reports, Whitehead was left by its owner in the care of someone who had contacted a “street vet” who deemed the dog was breached and performed a caesarian without any aneesthesia. The dog died and the eight orphaned puppies died a week later.

Dr Springer said a local veterinarian in Freeport had sought the engagement of police, but no official complaint was made.

He stated police could not go on anything unless they have some official complaint.

“An official complaint means that somebody would have to go and lodge a complaint with the police so that the case would go through the Office of the Commissioner of Police who would direct staff in Freeport to investigate,” he said.

“But the challenge came in that we did not seek to get the cooperation of the police in Freeport because whoever did it, these are aggressive guys with pit bulls, and whatever fear there is. So, in order to get a complaint lodged, it means that an official letter would have to be written to my permanent secretary to the permanent secretary of (Ministry of) National Security to get the police in Freeport to seek to address the complaint, and that is where we are with that matter.

“So there is no further development in the case because of the nature of the problem in Freeport. But certainly, once we get any information indicating these persons, the police can bring them to court. But if you don’t have evidence of such things, the police cannot go on hearsay. They have to have some evidence to show that ‘John Doe’ or ‘Peter Brown’ did such a procedure.”

Despite the standstill in the case, Dr Springer noted the situation is a serious concern for veterinarians in the country.

“You still have to send a strong message that people who are not licensed cannot be doing surgical things (procedures) regarding animal welfare without proper protocols. You have to be licensed to practice such things in the Bahamas. How that is to be handled in Grand Bahama or anyplace in the Bahamas, maybe one would need to do a national awareness PR paper to indicate such, but one would have to look within the laws about such persons engage in illegal practices of surgery or medicine.”

Dr Springer said the Veterinary Board is the only body that issues a licence to anyone to practice animal medicine legally in the Bahamas

“I am concerned because as a vet I believe people who are not licensed should not conduct those kinds of practices,” he said.

He stated such people must be caught and face court action.

Dr Chante Wildgoose, of Freeport Veterinary Hospital, whose client was the owner of Whitehead, said the incident was a case of animal cruelty.

Dr Springer said everyone has to take responsibility for responsible animal ownership.

“Nationally, I believe it is how we address issues of compliance, issues of enforcement, issues of education and information, issues of responsible animal ownership, issues of how people should really handle a pet when it is sick by taking it to a vet and how we follow regulations of the government or the country regarding animal health and animal control,” he said.