Dear Editor,
I read with great interest the events of the accident of the horse which occurred on Prince William Street, Plaisance on the rainy night of Saturday, December 28, 2013, and what it took to bring the matter to a decent and acceptable conclusion.
As someone who has a deep concern for the welfare of animals, I was disturbed and saddened at the disinterest of our people, my fellow Guyanese, not to respond to the injured horse. My immediate thoughts were of the horse lying there scared to death that he was surrounded by noise and even more noise with the constant flow of traffic. His heart surely must have been growing weaker and weaker by the second.
How heartless we have become as a people. I believe much education is needed about animals. An accident involving an animal, for me, is no different from one involving a human being. It is these same animals that serve us and some of us make our living from these very animals, and to treat them this way is appalling and heartless. How have we become an uncaring people? One wonders why this malady. Are we no longer our brother’s keeper? The horse could have belonged to any one of us and we would have appreciated the help of another in our absence.
I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Dr Dindyal Permaul, CEO, Guyana Livestock and Development Authority for his timely intervention and doing what was best for the horse in the situation, but most importantly my heartfelt gratitude to Ms Syeada Manbodh for her devoted and untiring efforts on behalf of the animals in our country. I would describe her as the Florence Nightingale for this part of the animal kingdom in Guyana, who, most times, is alone on these issues. Had she not been persuaded in her heart that these animals deserve the care and attention that is given to human beings, she could never continue to serve with this high level of commitment. We, as a people, can never truly repay her for her everyday work with the animals across this country.
Having said all of the above, we need to return to Syeada’s two questions? 1. What organization or institution is responsible for animal welfare on weekends and holidays? 2. How can their services be strengthened so that the suffering of animals in crisis can be reduced? Can the relevant authorities provide us with these answers?
Yours faithfully,
Maria Rodrigues
