Latest update March 29th, 2024 12:59 AM
May 19, 2008 Peeping Tom
Do not be deceived by a cow. Despite being made of blood, skin, flesh and bones, it is an extremely sturdy animal, as many motorists have found out to their detriment.
Even if you are driving at one of the atrociously slow speed limits and you should accidentally hit one of the many stray cows on our roadways, the damage that can result will be great. Hitting a cow is like hitting a concrete wall. The impact will bend your vehicle in half and probably send you to the hospital for months, if you are lucky.
Swerving from the path of the animal is also not always the best option, as quite a few of our motorists have found out. In our Saturday edition we showed a photograph of a standing car. The body of the car was propped up vertically by a lantern post, its trunk firmly planted on the ground and its two front wheels right up in the air. This resulted after the vehicle reportedly swerved from a stray animal.
It is not just stray cows that are to be found on our roadways. Today, you have a good chance of writing off your vehicle because of the donkeys, horses, sheep, goats, pigs, and even dogs straying on our roadways.
The damages caused by these accidents are costly; they often run into millions. But the most tragic of all is that deaths have occurred as a result of these stray animals. One recent accident testifies to this danger.
If you run over a dog and you stop to try to help, you are apt to find someone demanding compensation. But when a stray cow, pig, donkey or horse causes you to lose control of your vehicle, resulting in major damages and injury, you can be sure that nobody will be there to claim ownership of the animal.
Having to trace the owners is exasperating. I have known persons who have run into these animals on the roadways, and when they have tried to corner the owners for compensation there is always a denial of ownership.
Even when the evidence is incontrovertible and the owner cannot avoid liability for the damage his stray has caused, there is bound to be a million and one excuses offered not to comply. It is time we put an end to this abuse. And I have just the right man for the job.
I can promise this nation that if this person is given the authority and the backing of the law, within one month all accidents caused by stray animals will end.
The same animal owners who always claim that they have no control over their animals will want to put these animals to sleep in their bedrooms, because my man will be so effective that these same owners will not want to pay the consequences of having their cows, donkeys, horses and goats being found straying on our roads.
The man for the job is Glenn Lall. All he needs is the authority and the support of the law, and within one month he will put an end to animals straying on our public roads. One month is all he needs.
I saw him at work once. Cows used to be roaming in his area, unsupervised. And of all the places that these cows would choose to do their thing, it had to be on Glenn Lall’s bridge. Every day Glenn would find cow dung on his driveway.
One day he waited for the owner of the cows, and after a few kind words the owner went home, got a bag and shovel, and came and placed the dung in a bag. Then the owner got a hose and washed Glen’s driveway. The cows never again made their droppings in the area.
There are a great many persons in this country who are willing, if given the opportunity, to work for free to bring an end to the carnage on our roadways. Glenn Lall is one such person, and I am sure he will be willing to take on the job of ridding this country of all stray animals.
All he needs is the authority and the backing of the law. Any animal found straying or unattended should become liable to be seized, killed or sold. In the case of animals whose meat is suitable for human consumption, when the animal is killed, the meat should be shared out to institutions for the elderly. In the case of donkeys and horses, these should be sold and the funds donated to some charitable cause.
The existing law in the country makes a mockery of the system. How many animal owners have ever been placed before the courts because of accidents and deaths caused by their strays? Impounding cattle has not served, and will not serve, as a deterrent; and unfortunately, those who allow their animals to stray on the public roads will only put themselves in order when they run the risk of losing their cattle. They will understand the need to keep their animals under control only when they risk losing them.
Too many persons are being killed, maimed and having to suffer damage of property because of the numerous stray animals on our roadways. It is time that we put an end to this lawlessness and pain.
I have the man for the job. He is willing to take the job free of cost. All he needs is the go-ahead and the backing of the law.
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
Mar 29, 2024
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