Dear Editor,
My heart broke when I heard that more than 50 dogs were poisoned in St. Martin on September 16th.
They were not all stray dogs. Many were family pets. I can only imagine the pain these people experienced on losing a member of their family.
I learned about this from my friend Ursula Oppikofer, who runs I Love My Island Dog in St. Martin. Ursula relies on private support to help her dogs. She is enterprising and arranges for tourists to adopt dogs in her care and take them home to the States.
Ursula and I both know that this is a dangerous situation. Both the FBI and the Humane Society of the United States have research that indicates that people who abuse animals go on to harm people. The citizens of St. Martin should be very concerned.
I am in touch with President Daniel Gibbs about what needs to be done. He is aware of the problem but has many issues to deal with on the island.
The stray dog population is a serious threat to the tourism industry. Visitors don’t return; others don’t book a trip to St. Martin when they see on social media the packs of dogs roaming the streets.
In addition to building a shelter and veterinary clinic to replace the one destroyed by the hurricane, the government should hold people accountable if they don’t spay or neuter their dogs. All dogs should be licensed. A $500 fee should be levied on dogs found without a license that have not been fixed. The government can raise money from these efforts and put it towards building a shelter.
Through the Cathy Kangas Foundation for Animals, I sponsored a spay/neuter campaign in St. Martin where I have spent memorable vacations. I will help again, but the government needs to step in as well.
It shouldn’t take the poisoning of more than 50 dogs to call attention to the stray dog problem in St. Martin. I urge the government to take immediate action to help dogs in St. Martin. It is good for the residents, helps the tourist industry and is the humane thing to do.
Cathy Kangas
New Canaan, Connecticut
Cathy Kangas is a member of the Board of Directors of the Humane Society of the United States, the world’s largest animal welfare organization.
