Dear Editor,
Whenever a man purchases land for residential purposes, it is seldom his desire to share it with cows, unless he himself happens to be a cattle farmer. However, this is exactly the situation forced on the home-owners of Parfaite Harmonie, Schoonord, Westminster and the surrounding areas. I was informed by the very disgruntled homeowners of these regions that the area was once used as grazing lands and rice lands. Permits for cattle pasturage should have been rectified when the lands were converted to housing schemes, but the government, specifically the Ministry of Housing, has done absolutely nothing to discourage the old trends of cow-grazing and as a result, the animals continue to increase in number on titled properties. People are being attacked by cows on properties they had to pay for, and whenever the property owners attempt to prevent the animals from feeding in cultivated gardens and creating damage, they take up residence under houses and dislodge supporting columns by rubbing their bodies against them. They create huge hoofprint indentations on landscaped lawns, and even worse, deposit putrid excrement leaving the homeowners with clean-up chores. They enter yards by breaking wooden fences, and altogether leave homeowners with the expenses of assorted repairs.
Something must be done to prevent this wilful trespassing. The owners of grazing animals, and especially those who do it as a business, should come to know that the onus is on them to supply their livestock with sustenance and not let them loose on other people’s properties. Whenever this lawlessness is encouraged, the animals should be impounded with a stout retrieval fee placed on their heads. Only then will the cattle-owners be taught the lessons of fairness and consideration for others.
Yours faithfully,
Jorge Bowenforbes
