‘A national disgrace’

The Jamaica Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (JSPCA) is facing a race against time as it scrambles to find $200 million to relocate more than 500 animals after losing its long-time home at 10 Winchester Road in St Andrew.

Managing Director Pamela Lawson confirmed the organisation is under serious pressure after the property, along with an adjoining lot, was sold earlier this year by the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC) to the National Health Fund (NHF). The NHF has already begun preliminary works on the site.

“We were given a timeline to move about three months ago. To be honest, we really should have left on January 31. I’ve already conceded some of 10 Winchester to allow the NHF to start their process of dismantling number eight,” said Lawson, behind a worried laughter as she described what she said was akin to relocating the “KPH” (Kingston Public Hospital) of Jamaica’s animals.

It is going to be a very difficult process, she told The Sunday Gleaner.

Lawson said that while a relocation site has been identified at the Ministry of Agriculture at the Hope Gardens Complex along Hope Road, preparing the 1.5-acre space for animal care will require substantial investment. The $200 million estimate does not include the costs of transporting equipment, medicines, and hundreds of dogs, cats, rabbits, and other animals currently in its care.

The JSPCA, a non-governmental organisation, runs on an annual budget of approximately $150 million, yet receives only $25,000 per month from the government. Most of its funding comes from private donations and revenue from its veterinary clinic.

Weekly costs

Weekly, the JSPCA removes up to 1,500 animals from Kingston and St Andrew’s streets, including aggressive or sick strays from public hospitals, police operations, and tourist areas. These efforts incur weekly costs of up to $3 million, according to Lawson, adding that drugs to neuter the animals and others, such as sodium pentobarbital, used to put them down, cost tens of thousands of dollars. The JSPCA uses two and a half bottles of the latter weekly.

“How can I take on those additional services that are involved? The police alone, based on the number of different operations that we are doing for the stations or sections of the JCF, and the other things we are doing, it is costing us sometimes in the region of $2.5 million or $3 million weekly,” she charged, listing drugs, staff wages, and transportation among the expenses.

“We go on to the ministries for the stray animals ... . National Heroes Circle, KPH, and Victoria Jubilee Hospital ... . They are having stray dog and cat problems again. Like Spanish Town Hospital, they are packing up the place, making the place unsanitary. If you ever sit down at UHWI (University Hospital of the West Indies) outside of A&E and see the packs of dogs walking by, you would be surprised. So I have had to say, I just cannot sustain them,” she said, adding that the services also include removing stray animals from resort locations.

Architectural designs are already being drafted for the new location, but the site is currently overgrown, uneven, and prone to flooding. It also contains sinkholes, complicating development. The ministry has agreed to clear the land, but Lawson fears delays, and no funding exists yet for construction.

Without a permanent location ready, temporary operations using repurposed trailers for clinic space are being considered, confirmed JSPCA Chairman Kenneth Benjamin.

“But we just can’t move until we get somewhere to go. We have a lot of animals in there that we have to look after. So I’m sure the government is going to be a little easier on us, give us a little more time to relocate,” he said.

National Health Fund (NHF) CEO Everton Anderson told The Sunday Gleaner that while the entity legally obtained the property and intends to execute its contract, there is no hostility toward the JSPCA, which he understands has been trying to find a suitable space to relocate. His primary focus is the safety and comfort of staff and beneficiaries.

“It is the first time that we are going to have a head office, and it is to bring together all our services to improve our offerings to the public. That is what it really is. We have been in a sort of dissected environment, a split environment, for too long, and it is also for the health and safety of our staff. JSPCA has to indicate what their plans are, but certainly we have no hostility towards them,” Anderson said.

Government intervention

The situation has sparked outcry from local animal welfare advocates. Dr Blossom O’Meally-Nelson, chair of the Animal Welfare Advocacy Group (AWAG), called the treatment of JSPCA a “national disgrace” and urged immediate government intervention, saying the situation reflects badly on Jamaica internationally.

“The Ministry of Agriculture has identified a piece of land they (JSPCA) can use, but they don’t have the resources to get it suitable. As it is now, the situation is a national disgrace! This is the premier organisation that looks after animals in Jamaica. It provides services to the government of Jamaica, so the government needs to step up,” she said, adding also that the JSPCA must be located centrally and should be easily accessible by the public.

“Civilised people now treat their animals properly, and civilised countries have proper facilities for animal welfare. So, for this to be happening in Jamaica, this is really a crisis,” she said.

Dr Kathy Ann Leon, president of the Jamaica Veterinary Medical Association, fears any disruption to the JSPCA’s services, which she said are essential to the public.

“The service at the JSPCA is very complete; it competes with some of the premier private clinics in Jamaica. The services are wide and varied, and the technical experts there are well educated in their crafts,” she said, noting that the JSPCA has routinely offered young vets a launching pad and exposure for their careers after leaving school,” she said.

corey.robinson@gleanerjm.com