Byron Bullard has applied to Government (local and central) for a licence to import horses to Harbour Island and commence a Horse hire business on Pink Sands Beach.

The photo above shows the sorry state of one of the horses used by him in his previous horse rental business on Harbour Island taken when the Bahamas Humane Society moved in to rescue five horses in 2011 following numerous complaints from residents and tourists alike. 

Don’t let this happen again, if you care about animals and/or about what goes on in Harbour Island, Bahamas sign the Petition to local and central government now.

Byron Bullard previously operated such a business on Harbour Island and in 2011 the Bahamas Humane Society, in response to numerous complaints from residents, business owners and tourists alike, moved in to rescue them and they were duly surrendered by Mr. Bullard into their care. All five horses were in a terrible state of health and two of the horses were so ill that they died shortly following their rescue. All of the horses were significantly underweight and during the period of Mr Bullard's ownership they were not afforded food, water, and adequate shelter. They foraged on the island, damaging private property as they tried to break into pipes to access water. They had no proper trained care nor regular veterinary oversight, there being no vets on the island.

There is no Government agency on Harbour Island whose personnel have the requisite knowledge to ensure the well being of the horses, the safety of the riders and environment and to monitor same on a regular basis. There are no stables in place that meet even basic standards, let alone internationally accepted standards. And no proper provisions in place for safe housing of the horses in the event of hurricane. The financial sustainability of such a venture, having to fly in feed, vets, farriers, equine specialists etc is questionable and no economic plan has been made public to prove otherwise.

During the operation of Mr Bullards’s previous venture numerous complaints were made by beachgoers who found themselves having to navigate around the horses, often galloped by inexperienced riders along the beach and presenting a danger for families with toddlers and small children.  A major attraction of Harbour Island is the clean, unspoilt look of Pink Sand Beach. There are five hotels which front on the beach and three others which have beach facilities for their guests. The faeces left on the beach and in the shallow waters was a subject of complaint by the hoteliers and their guests.

Insofar as there has been mention of Byron Bullard possibly being afforded the use of Crown Land for such venture and we do not support this.

We urge you to reject Mr. Bullard’s application and all future horse rental ventures by this individual on Harbour Island, at all government levels, for the reasons mentioned above. Horses and animals in general are not able to speak for themselves therefore making it a necessity that we speak for them.