Donkeys on the island are being killed and the carcasses dumped in the open on different locations on the island.
The Observer visited Bath Village/Long Point area Wednesday to observe more than a dozen dead donkeys, partial burned and decomposing in an enclosed fenced lot. Some of the carcasses were close to the fencing, while others were on rocks on the shoreline.
The former junior minister in the Nevis Island administration, Carlisle Powell, took to social media about the slaughtering of the animals. The Observer contacted the former minister, who confirmed his media post.
“It appears [to me??] that the architect of this reckless savage killing of the donkeys is the minister of agriculture, the Honourable Alexis Jeffers,” said who???? Where is the proof? “It is through his ministry that this less-than-secret donkey elimination programme is funded and executed.”
Powell claims that people are being paid $75 per head for each donkey butchered.
“We are told that this money comes from a vote controlled by the Ministry of Agriculture,” he said. THIS IS TRICKY – HE’S NOT SAYING WHERE HIS PROOF CAME FROM. No questions are asked as to the manner of death or how long the animals suffered or how the carcasses are disposed of. We are reliably informed that the Ministry of Agriculture facilitates the disposal of some of the carcasses by using a white-paneled crane truck.”
The Observer made attempts to contact Jeffers on Thursday through his office, but was told he was in a meeting and to call back the following day. Several calls to his cellphone were unsuccessful.
Powell said that dumping the animals is not only aesthetically repugnant, but it also poses serious public health and safety concerns and threatens the meagre livelihood of livestock farmers in the area.
“Needless to say, this mountain of decaying flesh provides an endless banquet for swarms of pathogen infested flies,” he said. “Of immediate concern to livestock farmers is the reality that these carcasses continue to attract dogs like magnets. “
The Observer contacted the Nevis Historic and Conservation Society director, Nicole Liburd, who said that at this time she has no comment. The Observer contacted C.A.R.E Nevis founder Jane Ebbitt, who noted that they do not agree with how the donkeys are being slaughtered.
“You can manage animals intelligently,” she said.
