…But veterinarian says method is cruel

But while Councillor Usher says the Humane Society has been slow in providing the alternative drugs and services to ease the process on the animals, the Society has been having its own battles with finding funds. We spoke with Chief Veterinarian at the Animal Medical Center, Dr. Jane Crawford who tells us that this form of eradication is cruel.

Dr. Jane Crawford, Chief Vet. Surgeon, Animal Medical Center
“It’s a very bad way to die; it’s heavy convulsions, seizuring and the animal, they don’t die right away. It takes a little while to die, so they tend to suffer a bit before dying. They just seizure, seizure and then the heart just goes out. It’s like somebody who would have this heavy fits and it just continuous, it doesn’t stop. If you’re going to take a pet you have to decide okay I’m going to keep this animal and you have to try to do your best possible for it. If you can’t then there are other alternatives especially with the Humane Society that they could help out in that area. If it’s a female—because most people have problems with female dogs because they come into heat, they also offer a service that they do a reduce spate and neuter. So you get in contact with them and they have different vets come in and they have a clinic; a one day clinic and they just take in all the animals and they do them.”

Doctor Crawford says if your dog has been poisoned accidentally by strychnine, its life can still be saved if you act swiftly. Get your dog to drink water containing crushed charcoal powder or regular peroxide that will act on the poison before you can get it to the vet. If you have a dog and don’t want it anymore you can take it to the Belize Humane Society’s base behind the City Council’s Works Department at mile four on the Western Highway.