Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee says that he has recommended that the fee paid to stray catchers be increased to $5000 for each animal they take off the roadways as the job is a risky one.
Rohee while addressing traffic management during a press briefing on Friday said that stray animals contributed significantly to road accidents, particularly in the Berbice area.
He said that based on a recommendation he had made recently, the cabinet had agreed to increase the fee paid to the stray catchers to $5000, up from $1000.
Rohee explained that the biggest challenge is for the stray catcher, and persons did not want to catch strays for $1000 because of the danger involved. According to him, most of the animal pounds were at police stations and it was policemen who were the keepers. Those policemen were not paid but were given a certain amount of money to purchase feed for the animals or to pay someone to cut grass for them. “The greater risk lies with the person who catches the stray,” the Minister said, adding that persons were recruited and then vetted before they were given the go ahead to be stray catchers since “we don’t want irresponsible people posing as stray catchers.”
He said that the proposal had to be laid before Parliament and then passed.
The Minister was not certain about the application process but that the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) and the police had some role to play.
He said that anybody could apply for the position. There was a greater demand for such person in parts of Berbice including the Corentyne, but Rohee could not say how many stray catchers were required for these areas.
