WILLEMSTAD - Construction of the new animal shelter of the Dierenbescherming will start this week. Gregory Berry, chairman of the Animal Protection in Curaçao, stated this. The new dog shelter is part of the plan of the Curaçao Tourist Board (CTB) to remove stray dogs from the streets as much as possible.
CTB commissioned a survey among tourists about how they experienced Curaçao. This showed that tourists are particularly annoyed by the litter and street dogs.
The tourism board has made funds available to address both issues. With this money, the new dog shelter in Brievengat is now being constructed. It is the intention that as many dogs as possible can be accommodated, cared for and sterilized there.
“In 2016 we did research on how many dogs live on the street,” says Berry. “We counted the dogs in a number of neighborhoods and ran a calculation on this. We estimate that in 2016 there were about 6400 dogs living on the streets on the island. This may of course have increased in the meantime," said the chairman.
Feeding dogs on the street
The intention is that as many stray dogs as possible will be admitted to the shelter, but the chairman doubts whether there is space for all 6400 dogs. “We will try to accommodate as many dogs as possible. But we think that the number has increased even further in recent years. That is also because they are fed, which in itself is very noble. I understand that people find it sad when dogs live on the street, but it also ensures that these dogs multiply faster. Those are the two sides of the coin,” says Berry.
There will therefore not be room for so many stray dogs in the new shelter. "That is why we will try to have as many dogs as possible adopted in addition to the shelter, for example in the Netherlands," says Berry.
Animal Welfare Act
The hope is that the shelter will be ready when the Animal Welfare Act passed by Parliament in March this year is introduced. This law includes the rights of animals, for example that dogs are no longer allowed to be chained all day and that sufficient shade must be available.
When the law is violated, justice can act, and the animals may be removed from the home. “This is where the shelter comes in, because now all animal organizations and the Dierenbescherming itself are completely full. So, we need a place to house these dogs,” said Berry.
Advisory Board
"The Animal Welfare Act has been sent to the Ministry of Health, Environment and Nature (GMN) since March and is now with the Ministry of Justice for publication," says Member of Parliament Giselle McWilliam, who has been committed to the arrival of an Animal Welfare Act for some time. The ministries will have another chance to look at it before it is published. McWilliam: "There is a chance that it will have to go to the Advisory Council again before the law can actually come into effect."
The Dierenbescherming (Animal Protection) is the umbrella organization that will enforce the law. Two extraordinary investigating officers (boas) will be used for this purpose. These are officials who – at best – have completed police training. They then have the authority to investigate.
“Otherwise, the police would have to keep coming out at animal welfare cases. They don't have time for that,” said Berry. The problem is the payment. People who have completed police training can earn a certain amount of money when they join the police force.
Not enough money available
“We cannot match this amount alone,” says the chairman. “That makes it very difficult to find people with police training who want to work with us”. According to Berry, money must be made available to solve this problem. He hopes that the Minister of Justice will come up with a solution for this.