EDITOR, The Tribune.
Though there are many voices on this issue, the horses themselves have none.
As a life-long equestrian, both in the Bahamas and abroad, here is my opinion. I have no current ties to any special interest, just the interest of these voiceless animals who feel pain, hunger and desperation just as humans do, but are completely subject to the decisions of those same humans.
The problem:
If a National Stable is established, the cost to the Bahamian taxpayer would be huge. It easily costs $1,000-$2,000/month to properly care for a working horse on the island. By “working” I mean not a horse just turned out to pasture, but one that is doing a job working for humans, be it pulling a cart or training for an equestrian sport. At this point in time, is that what Bahamians want the government to spend money on?
Vet, blacksmithing and dental care is extremely expensive and often has to be imported. For all horses, but especially working horses, these services are essential and needed often.
All commercial grade feed and bedding required for the proper care of horses has to be imported. This escalates the cost of these items to double or more what horse owners pay in places like the US, Canada or Europe.
The cost of building a proper stable would be expensive, not to mention the amount of land needed. Did you know that the recommended ratio is 1 horse: 1 acre? Horses need space to graze and stretch their neck and legs. It is no humane life for a horse to pound the hard paved streets all day and then return to the stable to stand in a 12’ x 12’ stall.
The maintenance of this stable would be organizationally complex and expensive. Stalls need to be cleaned at least twice daily, feed and bedding has to be ordered on time and stored properly so that it doesn’t spoil, the horses need to be fed and watered 2-3 times per day, a turn-out schedule for the paddocks has to be established, medication has to be given and all
necessary repairs to stalls, fences, etc has to be done. All of this and more has to be done 7 days a week, 365 days a year by compassionate,
patient, animal-loving people who are dedicated to the care of these horses.
Given the state of disrepair of the surrey shelter at the wharf, maintaining an entire stable would be challenging at best. What is the current state of many government buildings that house humans during the workday?
Downtown Nassau is congested, often sweltering hot and polluted with exhaust from trucks and buses. This, topped off by being pulled in a rickety cart by a skinny, lame and sometimes frightened, misbehaved animal is not a pleasant situation. Is this the quality experience tourists in the Bahamas should be offered?
My guess would be that most Bahamians don’t even want these horses on the street. How many times have you driven down Shirley Street and cringe at having to change lanes to pass a slow surrey? This can cause traffic accidents and just plain frustration.
The solution:
Discontinue the surrey industry in Nassau.
Provide the hard-working licensed surrey drivers and owners with a fair, and attractive alternative to their surrey. How about an electric vehicle for
tours? Innovative, progressive, clean, HUMANE – all very positive for Bahamian tourism.
Work hand in hand with The Bahamas Humane Society, BAARK and other animal rights organizations to brainstorm how to allow for the humane and dignified retirement of the existing surrey horses on the island. These hard working
animals deserve to live out their lives in peace and good care. Fundraise if necessary.
The present government should take a swift, firm leadership stand regarding these surrey horses. Make the much needed, responsible humane change. It’s long overdue.
ANNABETH MAURA
Nassau, Bahamas,
October 24, 2013
Comments
UserOne 11 years ago
I couldn't agree more. Unfortunately I don't think we have a government that is either responsible or humane enough to take the lead in this. The suffering of the surrey horses is just the tip of iceberg of the suffering of animals in general in The Bahamas. We have an enormous problem with stray cats and dogs who are starving and diseased. The lucky ones end up at The Humane Society, which is bursting at the seams with animals, while people pay for breed animals; macho dogs like pit bulls and German shepherds or cutesey, small, fluffy dogs which they breed for money and then leave at The Humane Society when they have finished breeding them. BHS and volunteer organizations like BAARK and Operation Potcake are working hard and nonstop but the problem is huge and ever increasing.
banker 11 years ago
You are beating a dead horse here ... pun intended. The only way to stop the inhumane treatment is to get external (foreign) groups to exert pressure by publicising the cruelty and hitting the government where it hurts -- in the tourist pocket book. If the tourists knew that they were contributing to animal cruelty, the surrey industry would be finished for good in a week.
KimAra 11 years ago
The one thing that has to be remembered here is what you plan to do with the retired horses. If you stop the surrey horse industry immediately...where do you put you animals? The Bahamas Humane Society does not have the space nor the funds....$300,000.00 needs to be raised in order to be able to retire the 30 odd horses in the surrey industry. A huge amount of brainstorming would have to go into an immediate ban...
WinstonSmith 11 years ago
A valid point, but still, regardless of the cost of taking care of 30 horses immediately, there is still the issue of future horses and future incidents and future neglect to factor in. A utilitarian perspective would suggest that even in the case that 30 horses may not get the immediate attention they require, by shutting down the whole operation, you would be preventing much more suffering over time.
I think placating the advocates of abolishing the practice altogether with this National Stable is short sighted at best and not even a viable solution at worst.
banker 11 years ago
Hi Kim:
If the ban does miraculously take place, you could contact horse rescue groups in the US to take the horses, and raise the funds online through kickstarter.com. I am sure that with something as exotic as "Save the Surrey Horses of the Bahamas on Kickstarter, you would get your $300,000 in no time. You should look at this as a viable fund raising campaign for other things as well
Kalypso 11 years ago
This is an honest letter that gets right to the point. Surrey horses carriages are a relic of the past. This is no longer an exotic ride through exotic old town streets. It is a foolish, dangerous and cruel activity. Where have the dive boys gone...the ones who jumped off Prince George Dock for shiny tourist coins? Surrey horse ride needs to go the same way, away for good. The masters of these neglected horses need to find an activity that does not perpetrate the abuse common here throughout these islands. No matter how one may want to justify it, abusing an animal is a crime and those who permit it are as culpable as the abuser.
"...how we treat our animals reflects how we treat each other . ... We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals... The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated" ~ Gandhi ...
UserOne 11 years ago
KimAra, If there was an immediate ban, the needs of the retired surrey horses should be met by the government, not The Humane Society. However, that is going to take a lot of convincing as we don't have a government/society who generally cares about animals. As banker pointed out, the government need to realize that this abuse gives The Bahamas a bad name as a tourist destination (as comments on the petition indicated). That is all they will care about since tourism affects us economically.
blackcat 11 years ago
Maura makes some excellent points in her letter- specifically as they relate to the issues surrounding a national stable. As she said, we can barely keep government buildings clean that house humans much less animals.
the animal problem in this country is scary and huge; something must be done. The Humane Society is definitely spread too thin and would not be able to afford the care on their own, but as others have pointed out, perhaps more awareness could be brought to the situation and fundraising could be an option. The government should definitely have a large hand to play in this financially....the surrey rides have never been properly regulated and now we are paying the price ( as with most other social issues in this country). If a ban cannot be immediately enforced, then the enforcement of laws should be the next best thing. Allow animal rights groups the authority to monitor these horses and their surreys and the government and police should push to enforce the laws on the books- not just shrug them off as we do everything else.
Either way you look at it, a solution involves action and not simply talk. Laws are not enforced here and that is the bottom line. A ban and a lovely life of retirement for these horses would be ideal but if that is not an immediate option , I would hope that the government would take measures to ensure these animals are treated humanely and work hand in hand with animal rights groups who can devote the appropriate attention to this matter.
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