By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

ATTORNEY General Ryan Pinder has called for all animals in The Bahamas to be spayed or neutered unless their owners hold a breeding licence.

Speaking during the second reading of the Veterinary Medicine Bill, 2024, Senator Pinder hit out at the “reckless disregard for the overpopulation and breeding of animals in The Bahamas” saying it “must come to an end”.

Describing backyard breeding as “the single most important animal welfare issue in The Bahamas”, he called for stiff penalties for violations of the proposed law.

He said: “We must do better as a country on how we treat animals, how we express empathy, and the condemnation of animal abuse.”

The senator also pushed for the enforcement of existing breeding laws under the Animal Protection and Control Act, which mandates certification and inspections for breeding establishments.

He said stronger collaboration between the Department of Agriculture and the police is necessary to ensure compliance.

Mr Pinder hailed the work of groups such as BAARK (Bahamas Alliance for Animal Rights and Kindness), saying: “Since 2011, BAARK has provided more than 33,000 free spays and neuters.”

Kim Aranha, chair of the Animal Protection and Control Board and chairman of the Bahamas Humane Society, echoed Mr Pinder’s concerns about backyard breeding and stressed the need for public education on animal welfare.

“There’s a lot of education that needs to be done to have people understand what is required,” she said. “People need to realise that their dog needs water and care, just like they do.”

Mrs Aranha also stressed the importance of spaying and neutering to curb the population of stray animals.

“We need to stop people letting their dogs wander and not having them fixed, and so we just have an abundant amount of puppies to deal with,” she said.

Speaking to The Tribune last week, Mrs Aranha pointed to areas where the Animal Protection and Control Act could be improved, particularly with law enforcement.

“I’d like us to see in the police department a unit that’s specially trained, that knows the animal laws, and that can help us when we need the police to enforce a law,” she said.

She cited examples of unnecessary violence by police, adding, “I’ve seen videos of police shooting dogs that were tied. There was no risk of that dog hurting them.”

Mrs Aranha believes addressing overpopulation and neglect is as much a moral issue as it is a legal one.

“As a nation, we need to take [animal cruelty] more seriously,” she said. “The neglect comes from ignorance, and a big thing we need to tackle is education.”

Reinforcing the need for public accountability, she added, “We must educate people on their responsibility as pet owners.”

“As a New Year’s resolution, I’d like for us to really take animal cruelty and animal cases seriously,” she concluded.

One particularly disturbing case highlighted the urgency of these reforms. In October, a dog named Oaks was rescued in South Beach after being found chained amidst the remains of several other dogs, raising fears of organized animal torture.

Stephanie Kesten, BAARK’s animal traffic coordinator, described the scene, noting evidence of burned puppies and dogs, along with chains and collars but no animals attached.

This discovery has sparked renewed calls for stronger animal protection laws and rigorous enforcement to prevent such horrors.

Mrs Aranha also confirmed the Animal Protection and Control Board is still awaiting updates on several unresolved cruelty cases.

“We wanted to try and find out where we stood with all these different cases,” she said. “We’re sort of in limbo, I think, is probably the best way to describe it.”