Stray catchers in the East Canje Berbice have been traversing the cross streets in the area and impounding the farmers’ animals.
PPP/C Regional Councillor, Zamal Hussain, last Thursday raised the issue at Region Six’s statutory meeting. He charged that stray catchers are hunting through the “internal streets” in the Canje Area to pound farmers’ cattle, while in the town of New Amsterdam, cattle are being left to roam.
“Places like New Amsterdam, which is a town, so many cattle marching the entire night and day and not a single stray catcher is being seen in this area”, the councillor was quoted as saying. He added, “These people are sugar workers who were severed (from their jobs) and they are trying to make (a) living by minding a few sheep and the other animals”.
The farmers who are mostly retrenched sugar workers, are upset and insist that they cannot afford to pay the pound fee for their animals to be released.
According to Hussain, one Canje farmer was recently burdened with having to pay $72,000 to have his cattle released from the pound.
He also added, “I don’t know if this is victimisation or a deliberate act to send pressure but I am advocating that this be looked at seriously”.
Regional Chairman, David Armogan, highlighted that to his knowledge, stray catchers after being implemented were limited to the public road. “It has become a business now because the stray catchers don’t get pay unless they catch something, so they are looking for anything they can catch because they get pay by the head and then the police also get paid by the head”, he was quoted as saying.
Armogan added that a recommendation could be made to ask the stray catchers to stick to main roads and not traverse the cross streets in villages, since hardworking farmers are being drastically affected.
Meanwhile, AFC Councillor, Gobin Harbhajan, stated that “Poor people minding these things and the fees is so high. I don’t know what recommendation the RDC can make, that if that fee can be waived or lowered”.
According to Harbhajan, the same is being done in the Corentyne Area, where animals are being placed into pounds although they were found grazing in non-residential areas, where their owners were given permission.
Harbhajan called on Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan to step in and deal with the matter at the earliest, as it was stressed at the meeting that the issue is becoming a serious one.
However, it seems that the stray catchers have been working in Region Six without anyone in authority holding them accountable for their actions.
Over the last two years, Stabroek News in Berbice has received countless reports of stray catchers taking advantage of cattle farmers.
Since 2017 this publication has made attempts to contact the person in charge of the stray catchers in Region Six, however, he or she is always unavailable.
One Upper Corentyne female cattle farmer last month had contacted Stabroek News and expressed her frustration with the stray catchers. “Them come and the boy that grazing the animals get the paper (permission to graze in the area) in he bag and them na allow he to show them”.
Meanwhile, cattle farmers also lashed out against ranks in ‘B’ Division, who they claim are working in collaboration with the stray catchers.
The farmers also, are calling on Minister Ramjattan to intervene and handle the matter as quickly as possible.
