STOP THE KILLING: Give The Bahamas’ Stray Dogs a Chance to Live

To: The Government of The Bahamas, Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources, Department of Agriculture and Animal Control authorities

Thousands of people know the Bahamas for its beauty, its people and its compassion.

But today we are asking the Government of The Bahamas to confront an urgent animal-welfare issue:

What happens to the dogs being trapped and removed from Bahamian communities?

Under the Bahamas’ Animal Protection and Control Act, animals found at large may be seized and impounded. The law also permits an unclaimed animal, after the statutory holding period, to be disposed of as directed by the competent authority, including through euthanasia. 

We believe healthy, adoptable dogs deserve another option.

Trapping dogs may remove them from the street today. Killing them does not address why unwanted dogs continue appearing tomorrow.

We are calling for a humane, transparent national policy built around spay/neuter, vaccination, rescue, rehabilitation, fostering and adoption—not routine euthanasia of healthy or adoptable dogs.

WE ARE ASKING THE GOVERNMENT OF THE BAHAMAS TO:

Stop euthanizing healthy and adoptable trapped dogs and establish a clear policy giving them a meaningful opportunity for rescue or adoption.
Require rescue notification before euthanasia. Registered Bahamian and international rescue organizations should have an opportunity to claim and relocate eligible dogs before they are destroyed.
Create a public registry of impounded dogs, including photographs, capture location, date captured, health status and deadline for reclaim, rescue or adoption.
Expand spay-and-neuter programs nationwide to address the source of the stray-dog population rather than repeatedly removing its consequences.
Vaccinate, microchip and sterilize dogs that can safely be returned, adopted, fostered or transferred to qualified rescue organizations.
Strengthen enforcement against abandonment, irresponsible breeding and irresponsible ownership.
Publish transparent Animal Control statistics showing the number of dogs captured, reclaimed, adopted, transferred to rescues, returned to communities and euthanized.
Establish formal partnerships with Bahamian and international rescue organizations willing to provide funding, veterinary assistance, foster homes, transportation and adoption opportunities.
This isn’t a demand to ignore public safety.

Dogs that present genuine safety concerns should receive appropriate professional assessment and humane handling. Communities have a right to be safe.

But public safety and animal welfare do not have to be opposing goals.

The law itself requires impounded animals to receive suitable food, water, shelter and movement, and provides a process for dealing with impounded animals. 

The solution to an overpopulation problem cannot simply be an endless cycle of:

Trap. Hold. Kill. Repeat.

We can do better.

Every healthy dog sterilized prevents future unwanted litters.

Every dog transferred to rescue creates another possibility.

Every adoption saves a life.

Every responsible owner educated changes the future.

And every government willing to work transparently with its rescue community demonstrates that compassion and public safety can coexist.

THE DOGS OF THE BAHAMAS DESERVE A CHANCE.

They cannot petition the government.

They cannot ask what happens after the trap closes.

We can.

We respectfully call upon the Government of The Bahamas to establish a humane national stray-dog policy that prioritizes sterilization, rescue, rehabilitation and adoption and ends the routine euthanasia of healthy and adoptable dogs.

Please sign this petition and share it throughout The Bahamas, the United States and the international animal-rescue community.

Their lives should not end simply because nobody came for them in time.

— Hospitality Helping Hands (H3) Dog Rescue
Hospitaliyhelpinghands.org

more info or to get involved text 561-714-2382