How do we eradicate dangerous feral dogs? I made complaints to the police because my family’s pet cats were being killed by the dogs. The police reported that the Department of Agriculture were setting traps, but none were set. Cats in the neighbourhood have continued to be attacked. DoA cannot set traps on someone’s land without the owners’ permission and they are not allowing the DoA to do so for different reasons such as the traps are cruel, there is no room at the Humane Society and the DoA will kill the dogs. From mid-March to now I estimate that a couple dozen cats have been attacked and killed. A few days ago, the DoA put a trap in my yard but it attracts chickens that eat the bait, so we have set a separate trap for the chickens.

 The packs of dogs are growing. How do we keep ourselves safe and wild dogs from destroying our domesticated pets?

Cayman National Bank

Ask Auntie sponsor

Auntie’s answer: I can understand your concern and frustration, and how upsetting it has been to have your family’s pet cats killed by wild dogs. It also sounds like you have done everything right in your efforts to solve this problem. The issues you describe such as the DoA being unable to set traps in a neighbour’s yard without permission add to the difficulty in getting feral dogs off the streets.

But the DoA is really the only official means for capturing the animals. A DoA representative explained that trapped dogs are impounded and then assessed to determine if they are truly feral or roaming dogs with owners. If the animals are pets and the owners can be identified, the department contacts them or the dogs are kept for a minimum of six days to give people the opportunity to claim them. “Impounded dogs are only humanely euthanised when no owner can be identified, efforts to have the dogs adopted have been unsuccessful or where the animals have been assessed as unsuitable for adoption,” he said.

To report any potential animal welfare issues, click on the Report Animal Cruelty link on the DoA website. Reports can also be emailed to the department’s animal welfare officer, or to the general DoA address. You can also call the department at 947-3090.

One Dog at a Time (ODAAT), a charity on island dedicated to rescuing stray and unwanted dogs, also recommends contacting DoA to report on packs of feral dogs so they can set traps.

Once dogs are taken to the DoA, an ODAAT representative explained that the organisation assesses them to see if they are adoptable and if the charity has room available it will take the dogs. “As long as dogs are good with dogs and people, we can work with them. We do a seven-step assessment to deem adoptability,” she said.

To date for the year, ODAAT has rescued 127 dogs with about 50 of them coming from the DoA. To contact the charity, call 917-8284 or email ODAAT.

I realise this doesn’t provide an immediate solution to the problem of feral dogs running around your neighbourhood. But since all roads seem to lead to the DoA, I suggest you and others in your area contact that department directly and continue to do so until animal welfare officers come out and start catching the dogs.