SEVERAL organisations or societies have come over to Independent Guyana as part of its inheritance from colonial times, and all of these tend to have an international pitch.  Among these organisations are the Red Cross Society, Freemasonry, and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA).   In Independent Guyana, the “Royal” in the name was replaced with “Guyana” so the Society is now known as the GSPCA or the Guyana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Such animal protection programmes are still spreading or being strengthened in various parts of the world.  For example, an RSPCA was recently established in Bhutan, a tiny Himalayan kingdom, and President Trump of the USA passed a fairly strong animal protection bill into Federal Law before he left office.

Animals seem to have a particular attraction for children who seem to have a natural empathy for them and animals, on their part, seem to communicate with children easier than adults.  When therefore, Zayd, the son of President and Madame Arya Ali, hosted a lemonade sale at State House in the first week of March to raise funds for the GSPCA, the occasion seemed quite normal. However, this was the first time in the history of State House that such an occasion took place.  Zayd and the other children who attended and who were all interested in animals happily fraternised.  The sale raised nearly $2 million.

The GSPCA does not venture into the protection of animals in the wild as a few similar organisations in other parts of the world do.  It focuses on domestic animals and particularly pets.  Until about the 1950s, the main means of transporting goods in Guyana was using carts drawn by donkeys, mules, and horses and sometimes, the cart men would cruelly beat their animals with the thick ropes they carried in their carts.  In those years, the RSPCA employed a roving inspector who went about the city and even the countryside on his bicycle and was able to bring prosecutions before the Courts of these cruel cartmen or even persons mistreating their dogs, cats, and even livestock.  The roving inspector was an effective deterrent, especially to the cart men.

Today, the GSPCA rarely brings prosecutions;  it concentrates on rescuing animals, mainly dogs, and cats, who have been abandoned or are being mistreated;  conducting a clinic that offers services such as vaccinations, deworming, spaying and neutering, and other veterinary services;  providing food and shelter;  and finding new homes for animals.

On any afternoon at the GSPCA clinic, one may see owners taking their cats, dogs, rabbits, parrots, and other birds and even turtles for veterinary inspection and treatment.

GSPCA is a volunteer organisation and the doctors and attendants are volunteers.  A nominal fee is charged for consultation and medicines, but it is volunteerism and donations which keep the organisation afloat.  The long-serving President of the GSPCA is Mr. Oliver Insanally who has been performing this labour of love for many years.

Protecting animals and caring for them have been civilising forces in all societies, even from ancient times, such as when Buddhist rulers established animal hospitals by Lord Buddha’s teachings.  Families who rear pets rarely commit crimes of violence against each other.  It has also been observed that the men who indulge in domestic violence against women and children have never had pets.

Animals, on their part, provide many valuable and essential services to man. For example, the Eskimos of the Arctic cannot survive without their dogs.  In Guyana, dogs help in crime fighting by tracking down criminals and assisting in discovering narcotic shipments at airports.  A good proportion of homes depend on guard dogs to deter criminals or to warn residents of unwelcome or suspicious visitors, and they are on duty 24 hours per day and there are examples of dogs defending owners against armed criminals and being injured or killed.

Dogs also help to guide the blind or visually impaired.  Cats in any home ensure that rats and mice are kept away.  But probably, the greatest service of pets is the companionship and love they give to their owners, particularly children.  Owners using their psychological relationship with their pets often grasp the great philosophic truth that all life is one irrespective of the physical forms in which life is manifested.

GSPCA provides a very valuable service to Society and enriches the quality of life and we would wish to persuade volunteers to offer their services and the public to make financial donations to the Society, no matter how small.