fp Turks and Caicos

Donkeys and horses and cows, oh my!

Anyone who has ever been to Grand Turk knows that it’s not uncommon to see donkeys, horses and cows wandering the streets in the capital of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Some are ill and underfed. They wander into people’s yards and eat their gardens. Others have been injured after being struck by cars.

In April a baby donkey that was injured on Grand Turk was rescued by the Turks and Caicos Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and taken to Providenciales for treatment, but it died in surgery.

“There are regular horror stories of these poor creatures getting trapped in cattle grid, breaking their legs and just dying in the sunshine,” said Agriculture Director Nicky Turner.

In an attempt to solve the problem, the Animal Management Unit of the Environmental Health Department in October advised all owners of cattle, horses and donkeys to remove their straying animals from public places or face prosecution.

Now the government seems to be on the verge of corralling the problem to protect the animals and even start a new industry.

In September, 80 donkeys and eight cows are scheduled to be shipped to farms on the Dominican Republic for use as draft animals under the auspices of the U.K.-based charity Donkey Sanctuary, Turner said.

The small group will be moved to an area at the Cruise Center as a petting zoo for visiting cruise passengers, he said.

The Donkey Sanctuary has worked worldwide to improve conditions for donkeys and mules which are in need of attention by reason of sickness, maltreatment, poor circumstances, ill-usage or other like causes and the prevention of cruelty and suffering among donkeys and mules.

In 2009, the Donkey Sanctuary’s visiting veterinarians worked with the Environmental Health Department to neuter 60 male donkeys to help control the population. Many donkeys have been kept in a pen on the northeast end of Grand Turk.

As for the 200-300 cows that are scattered across Grand Turk, many of them might soon be moving to North Caicos to become a national beef and dairy herd, Turner said. That should happen within the next year after the Crown Land Unit determines which land the government can grant for the venture.

“More or less, the cow problem is going to be brought under control within the next 12 months or so,” Turner predicted.

The solution for some 200 horses on the island is still being formulated. The Environmental Health Department plans to start electronically tagging all of the animals to try to identify ownership, Turner said.

“Somehow or another, we’ve got to get this problem under control,” Turner said.

The government is currently in the process of moving the Animal Welfare Unit from Environmental Health to Agriculture, which should take place sometime later this year, Turner said.

“We’re trying to work together to get the solution,” he said.

Photos by Richard Green/Staff