The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Humane Society (BHS) President Kim Aranha yesterday confirmed that the lives of 100 pigs at a farm off Gladstone Road were not threatened by the smoke and flames emanating from the New Providence Landfill’s most recent fire.

Mrs Aranha told The Tribune that “everything is under control” at the farm in question, and that as of yesterday afternoon none of the pigs were suffering from smoke inhalation and had access to “plenty of water” at the Fire Trail Road west site.

Mrs Aranha also said the BHS did not encounter any serious problems during the fire, and that to the best of BHS officials’ knowledge, no animals were injured or killed as a result of the blaze.

Nonetheless, Mrs Aranha said the BHS took in “about eight” displaced cats and dogs as a result of the fire. She also said the Humane Society had to care for a total of four animals for the duration of the fire, mainly because the families that owned them “had to vacate and they didn’t know what to do with them”.

However, she said the animals have since been reunited with their owners.

Mrs Aranha’s comments were in response to a Facebook live video by Heather Carey, spokesperson for Raising Awareness about the Bahamas Landfill (RABL) on Sunday, in which a local farmer claimed that some 60 to 80 pigs were located on his Fire Trail Road west property that was adversely affected by Sunday’s massive blaze.

In the video, the owner claimed that the pigs were not chained and/or contained in a pen, and were thus able to move to an area of the property furthest away from the blaze and dense smoke. However, he expressed concern about whether all of the animals would be able to be relocated should things get worse.

When contacted yesterday, Mrs Aranha confirmed that all of the pigs were alive. Percy Grant, BHS shelter manager, also told The Tribune that while there were fires on Fire Trail Road west, they posed no “imminent” danger to the pigs or the property in question.

“We went to see them yesterday, we were there today (Tuesday), the air is clear, they’re completely fine, they have plenty of water, the owner - though nobody could find him - was actually monitoring the situation,” Mrs Aranha said. “His son works about 200 yards away from the farm, and my guys from the Humane Society met with him today, and he was very grateful for everybody’s concern. Everything is under control and those 100 pigs are just fine.”

Mrs Aranha also said no cats or dogs were harmed during the fire.

She credited this to the efforts of Free National Movement (FNM) election candidate Donald Saunders, whom she said freed any animals he saw trapped in yards affected by Sunday’s blaze.

“So I think the animals were able to get away from the toxic smoke,” Mrs Aranha added. “We’ve been in Jubilee Gardens every day, we’ve helped a couple of people with their animals. We’ve had no serious problems, as far as we know no deaths, no injuries. We took care I think a total of four animals for the duration of the fire, because the families had to vacate and they didn’t know what to do with them.

“They’ve been, I think, reunited now with their families. And I must say that in my opinion looks like the fire department did a pretty good job keeping that fire away from the actual homes.”

She added: “But apart from that we activated, we prepared, we had the whole clinic ready with cages and extra towels and food, and it was a non-event.”

On Sunday, residents in Jubilee Gardens were forced to evacuate their homes after a massive fire at the landfill covered the community in thick, black hazardous smoke. The fire also threatened some homes in the area, however officials said that no houses were burned or destroyed.