Spate of pet poisonings at Governor’s Beach

A NUMBER of pet poisoning incidents have taken place at Governor’s Beach caravan site, following the refusal on the part of residents to get rid of their dogs. Following the CTO’s request, site management told residents that dogs were no longer be allowed on site, which enraged pet-owners who were initially told they could keep dogs at their caravans.

“We have a weird feeling here at the site. We are waiting to see what will happen. Meanwhile, I don’t let my dog out of the house for fear of what might happen,” said Maureen Paul, a resident at Governor’s Beach caravan site.

The refusal of residents to remove their dogs was followed by the suspicious poisoning of a number of pets, both dogs and cats, with lanate. A total of three dogs and a number of cats, including strays consumed the poison, which is commonly used to kill domestic animals. Residents managed to save two of the dogs as they injected the animals with the antidote, but a third dog and a number of cats did not survive.

Residents contacted the Veterinary Service and the police to report the case. In order for the police to investigate a pet poisoning, the Veterinary Service must have ‘sound evidence’ that the animal’s death was caused by poisoning. Specifically, pet owners must present the animal’s dead body, so that an autopsy takes place.

Following the poisonings, Paul and other residents decided to take the dead cats’ bodies to the Veterinary Services, but the bodies mysteriously disappeared. “I went home to get plastic bags to put the cats’ bodies. By the time I went back they had mysteriously disappeared. We think someone threw them down the cliff, as we searched the dustbins and did not find anything,” Paul said.

The caravan site’s residents had been contesting the site management’s decision to ban dogs. Residents argue that when they purchased their caravans they were told they could keep pets, including dogs.

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