animal cruelty

Join the Humane Society & let your representatives know your thoughts on the issue. Support early education about animals. Report the cruelty you see & keep reporting it if nothing is being done.

Right now I am still considered a tourist as opposed to a resident. That being said I would like to write to the board of tourism, as well as any government office that might listen.
Where can I get these addresses?

I know of no USVI government office that will pay attention to a letter from a tourist; even locals struggle to be heard.

I admire your willingness to take a stamd on this issue. The Department of Tourism's address is 53A Company ST, PO Box 224538, ST. Croix, VI 00822, telephone number is 340-773-0495, 774-8784. Animal control is the statutory responsibility of the Dept. of Agriculture, Estate Lower Love, Kingshill, ST. CRoix, USVI 00850. Thier phone number is 778-0997, 774-5182. Please bear in mind that animal control is contracted out on each island to therepsctive humane society's / animal shelters.

PLease also bear in mind that attitudes toward animal treatment and control are different in the West Indies than they are stateside. This is a diifferent culture, dogfighting, cokfighting, etc., while not legal, are certainly condoned. Yes I know legislation was passed last year regarding animal cruelty. Also know that the sponsor of that legislation was hardly a paragon regarding active anti cruelty practices.

Systemic mistreatment of animals (by stateside standards) is a fact of life on the islands. Maybe it is better today than it was twenty years ago. I don't know, I wasn't here then. It still has long way to go, and the factors that drive it will take much more to eradicate than the passage of feel good legislation.

Thank you for your quick response. I'll start circulating the addresses and report back.
My hope is that the powers that be take notice and see a potential loss of tourist dollars. That's my hope- I'll try anything so please keep suggestions coming. I have quite the circle of animal lovers,and so do they, and so on and so on. All we can do is try our best to make a difference.

OK - I will be blunt. Don't you realize that there are already people on Island who feel like you do, think like you do and have been hacking away at this problem for years - myself included!
There will be almost no support fron the local population who have far more pressing needs than some stupid dog's welfare and the transplant population are quite generous already.

Going to another culture and spouting forth ideas etc. when one has no idea of the type or scale of the problem or the efforts of the on-island organizations etc....whilst well-meaning...is exactly the type of behavior that brings accusations of colonialism, etc that makes race/class relations so difficult.
Dog fighting is condoned by the police on StX - many are at the dog-fights. Most households have a sad neglected dog on a chain in their yards etc etc.
When moving to another culture - be humble above all things - go to the local experts and volunteer your services doing what they need you to do.
If you don't like animal neglect and cruelty, then perhaps the VI is not for you...it is pretty in your face...starving horese tethered in the sun with no water round many of the housing projects, pitiful chained dogs in yards, dogs wandering the street with la Manga etc. Underfunded resources with no official backing...That is what the animal shelter faces. Ask them what they need from you.

Thank you for being blunt Jane you said it much better then I could have.

I would like to hear from more people who feel like me and have been hacking away at this problem for years.

Specifically, are there any local West Indian people who stand up for the rights of animals?
If so, how did they come to change their way of thinking?
Does anyone know if there are any people of West Indian heritage who volunteer at the Humane Society?
More importantly, are there any locals on the board of the Humane Society?

Folks from the states may not see eye to eye with the local cultural attitude towards animals but this is just another cultural difference that must be accepted. All you can do is try to ameliorate the situation by donating your time and money and attempting to bring charges against the most egregious offenders. There are West Indians involved with the Humane Society. There is also a board participant who is/has been especially active with the Humane Society. Dealing with situations of animal abuse is taxing, so it is unlikely that folks involved in this endeavor wish to spend their free time trying to explain West Indian cultural attitudes about animals on this board.

You've asked a number of questions lately that suggest you haven't spent much time here. As East Ender said, you will probably have to wait until you've become a part of the local community before you understand what can and cannot be changed and how to go about trying to change what bothers you most. The cultural values here are deeply ingrained and very different than in the states, and you will not be embraced if you come here intent on being an agent of change. It is likely that most West Indians don't think the things you want to change require changing so you have to determine if you can be happy with things the way they are. If so, you may enjoy living here. If not, I would recommend against moving here.

Not one person posting here in response to "christie's" initial post has thus far deigned to mention that an "Animal Bill" was finally passed through the Legislature last year and became law. The Bill was fought over for many years.

Time and time again it was shot down over the years because of issues over cockfighting and other issues but the resilience and the dedication of this most diverse community (blacks, whites, inbetweeens, Hispanics, Asians, etc.) finally culminated in a comprehensive law which is now on the books.

Research the new law. Become so familiar with it so that you can quote it when you call your local precinct to make a complaint and they slough you off with a cursory, "notitng we can do."

Off-Islanders often don't keep up with local news but too often have many suggestions about how ""we" who are here should change things,

Cheers!

It's much better now than it was in the past thanks to a lot of hard work by a lot of people. Still a long way to go, though. You're not going to have much luck changing the mindset of the older folks but the kids are where the changes will come about since more & more are learning to like the animals.

I'm surprised by some of the responses.

Someone wants to help and some of the responses are like "we're already trying - don't need more help from you Continentals!"

"Spouting ideas"? - yeah! Spouting ideas! Isn't that what makes things change?

I think Christie approached it very humbly - and others just tried to make suggestions as best they could - as this is a very important topic and one that touches everyone's heart.

Animal cruelty is not accepted by all locals. There is a certain segment of locals who accept - and a certain segment who absolutely do not. I am talking about West Indians --- who own animals and treat them as family members. I know West Indians who are on the board of the Humane Society and they own animals.

So, it is NOT a rule that West Indians accept. And, not all West Indians feel like continentals are "spouting off" when they make suggestions. There are West Indians who don't mind connecting across the ocean...and becoming part of a Global mentality. These are people with college degrees, wonderful careers, and a better vision for the VI. They don't see the island as an isolated little rock in the middle of nowhere. They feel that they are part of the World - and problems are solved at the World level. Interesting that these people have had so much success in their lives - not surprising.

So, please, don't speak for everyone if you have a notion that this is just how it is and should be accepted....or nothing can be done.....or continentals should mind their own business or not offer suggestions.

West Indians are not all the same. They are not all cut from one cloth. Just like people here in the states, who are different and live different lives, have different opinions, different mentalities........West Indians can run the gamut.

If people who start a discussion and bring forth ideas and suggestions (no matter how unlikely to be accepted) make you angry, then perhaps YOU aren't doing the VI any good by being there.

Okay.

I am going to share a little story:

Just this past Monday I nearly hit a very disoriented dog with my car on the busy road between Red Hook and Smith Bay. I could see that the dog was in trouble so I pulled my car into a side road and parked. I was hoping that I could somehow coax the dog into my car because it had a collar and tags and I figured I could return it to its owner.

The dog was having none of this and the best I could manage to do was to chase it off the main road and into the residential neighborhood where I was parked. Within seconds a lovely West Indian lady came running out of her house with a bag of dog food to help me coax the dog to come to us. The dog kept chugging on at a rapid pace while I and my new friend chased it uphill.

After a few minutes of running straight up a steep hill in the heat of the day, it became clear that if we kept this up, someone would need to come rescue US not the dog -- so we gave up the good fight in order to be able to stick around to hopefully help a few more animals, as well as care for our own.

End of story and I hope that at least some people will be able to see my point in sharing this, which is to say that it is important to avoid generalizations -- especially negative ones. They are most destructive to good social relations and are a one-way, dead-end road.

Mell,

Great minds think alike - and, sometimes, at the same time 🙂
Thank you for sharing. I have known many, many native West Indians during my life. Of those that I have known longest, ALL have shared their homes with dogs. They were not on chains in the yard. They were in the home...and with us on the beach.....and in the family Christmas Card photo.....and shopped for......and fed the best food......and had visits to the vet......and have surgeries to correct things......and cancer mediaction for cancer...........and cried over at death.

And I am not talking about ONE family.....and I combining memories of many - native - West Indians.

If these people aren't your neighbors, I am sorry. They are on the islands today.

I don't think anyone was saying we don't want help but it works better if you come here first and get the lay of the land before you assume that people aren't trying fix a problem already. It is a different culture and for the most part you may need to approach it in a different manner. IMHO I do find it insulting when you get someone who has only vacationed here and is trying to round up the troops like we had no idea there wasn't a problem and people weren't working hard to fix it. Its like saying all they hard work everyone has been doing is not good enough. But that is strictly my opinion. I realize Christie just has a good heart and didn't realize before she came down here the problem was so bad. I think any criticism of her posts was done in a manner to point out to here how they may come across to be who live here and try very hard to improve the situation here. It can be more then a bit demoralizing to have a new comer say everything is being done wrong or not hard enough etc.

As far as generalization's of the west indian culture. The population is over 95% west indian. They have to want something to change for it to change on this island. Not saying anything negative about locals but as much as continentals may want to make a change (or not) we are a very small portion of the population and transient for the most part. And on top of that you have to fight a extremely corrupt government and a police department that doesn't want to be bothered for burglary, robbery, etc let alone animal abuse. It is a uphill battle all the way. It breaks your heart to see these sick and abuse animals, to care for them and know they will most likely be put down in a week. And to know while so many on the island may not be the abusers they simply do not care one way or the other. I do not see how the situation could be any different or we would not have the amount of problems we do.

Again this is how I feel. If anyone feels attacked or insulted I am sorry but this is how it looks from my prospective, and experience.

Bluie: I agree with you- this painting of "West Indians" with a broad stroke is not accurate and is not helpful. There are some very folks with a different point-of-view here- I had a conversation with a guy once who said that he would never spay or neuter animals because it went against their nature. Logic had no place in the discussion.

I did not mean to imply that everything was being done wrong or not hard enough. Regardless of what has already been done and how much progress has been made, there is still an issue that needs attention.(this goes for animal cruelty anywhere)

Christie,

You are missing the larger point. Where do you live? Let's say you live in Miami, a city I frequently visit. I could easily read the Miami paper and discover that, for example, Miami is in the middle of a huge police corruption scandal (no complaints from actual Miami residents- LOL).

I immediately get on the internet, and start a crusade to clean up this well-reported problem. I assume the fine citizens of Miami would tell me to go fly a kite, that they can handle their own problems. And they would be right. Very few people are anxious for strangers to come into their homes and criticize how things are being done.

The locals (of which I am one) resent it, no matter where they live.

Linda J,
So what if the Miami residents tell you to go fly a kite. It's your prerogative to express your opinion and fight for what you believe is right.
Yes, I am a stranger. A stranger who has questions about animal cruelty on the islands. I am a stranger who wants to learn more about a culture I don't understand.(so crucify me) More importantly, I am a stranger who couldn't care less if you resent it.
If my questions and curiosities offend you, don't read my posts. There are enough kind and helpful people that can respond.

PS. A few strangers (transplants and visitors) have come into my community and my business interests spouting off opinions and ideas. Having an open mind allowed me to see things from a different point of view and really grow. But that's just me.

Christie dear, all the nice people on this board are giving you great advice. They do not have to do this. They post because they are trying to help people who want to relocate here. They, for the most part live here full time. Some of the people did live here and left for various reasons. They still post because they care. Good or bad, they care. They are not lying to you or trying to stop you from moving here. They are trying to help and giving you the benefit of their experiences. You can learn from their experiences or you can ignore it and do your own thing. Go ahead and beat your head against the wall, sing to the choir or what ever it is that you have to do. I will tell you that I am a newbie here on STX and every bit of advice I have been given on this board wether I wanted to hear it or not has been extremely accurate. You need to give these wonderful people a little respect.

Fpr the local posters.....

What are y'all doing about the animal cruelty situation in the VI.......persoanly? Hearing of your own strategies might help others to act appropriately.

Did all of you enjoy the annual fundraiser? The Humane Society Valentine's Ball......

I've heard tha the Marriott has been going way up on the price, so the tix are now pretty steep. I've recommended a formal and totally decorated tent arrangement, to keep the ticket price down and better margin the returns. Not sure how feasible that is.
Sounds like Marriott is the only choise.

The old Tart is here but very tired and feeling very old. Christie who doesn't even live here hasn't apparently done her own basic research but also seems hell bent on preaching to all of us here who FINALLY got the animal bill passed through the Legislature and are working to ensure that the law as written is understood and adhered to.

Christie has her heart in the right place but she needs to familiarize herself with the intriciasies of island life.

Cheera!

STT resident,
If I lived there, I would not have to ask my questions on the board. Since my lack of VI residency bothers you, perhaps you should start your own board strictly for locals. Forgive me for using this board to educate myself. I should have gone to the library. Why is it so offensive that I am taking an interest in learning why things are the way the are.
Did I imply that the people of the VI were not doing anything to help the cause of animal rights?
How are my posts preaching?

asking what we can do to help animal cruelty
planning to write to the board of tourism/Dept. of Agriculture
asking to hear from more people who have been fighting the fight
asking specific questions about West Indian involvement with the Humane Society

Frankly, I don't understand why you're being jumped on, Christie. All you asked was what you could do to help. Personally, I think that's terrific. I don't see the need for residents to become defensive but maybe I need to reread this whole thread in case I missed something.

What am I doing? I've done plenty. I've given lots of money & time to the animals, I've only adopted island critters & my entire estate is being donated to the Humane Society here.