The Decision to Eradicate Followed Complaints

Francis Flores

According to Flores, the plan to eradicate the strays came about after some residents had complained that the dogs had become a nuisance, and asked the Council to take action.

Francis Flores, Town Administrator, Dangriga
“We decided to eradicate stray dogs because of mounting concerns from many people from within the society about the increasing population of stray dogs. And quite a number of people found out that every morning they get up they would see garbage bins turned over by dogs and then the garbage is all over the place and dogs begin to transfer it from one location to another, you know. And it allows the town to really look unsanitary,  unhealthy, and so we decided that maybe this is the best route to take. We collaborated with the Public Health Department since we realized that’s the agency that we have to collaborate with. So we did so and they were willing to help us because they claim that once it comes from the municipality, normally they would respond. They decided to choose a particular drug or poison.”

Marion Ali
“Strychnine?”

Francis Flores
“Yeah, I think that’s the name of it. And so they asked us to pay for the operation. So we decided that we will pay for the operation to poison these stray dogs.”