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Stray Catchers accused of impounding cattle while owner/herder present. —police allegedly threaten to shoot the farmer if he touched the cows
Since the establishment of the Stray Catchers’ Unit in 2010, the initiative has garnered successes but has, over the years, been plagued with complaints by farmers accusing the stray catchers attached to the unit, of wrongfully impounding their animals. Farmers have over the years complained that the stray catchers are venturing through streets in villages and also boldly catching the animals while the owners/herders are present.
It appears that the issue still continues, as a cattle farmer from Topoo, Albion, Corentyne, Berbice, is alleging that 10 head of cattle were impounded at the Albion Police Station wrongfully.
Eddylall Mohabir, called ‘Jango’, just minutes after his animals were herded into the pound by a group of men who exited a white Toyota Fielder and wearing stray catchers shirts, said that he was a short distance away from his animals herding them back home Tuesday afternoon when the men stopped.
The stray catchers, although seeing that the animals were accompanied by their owner, Mohabir, still exited the vehicle and began to chase the cattle to the Albion Station, located a stone’s throw away.
The man was during that time also threatened by a Lance Corporal who was present when he attempted to get his animals away from the stray catchers.
“Me went on the pump dam (Albion road leading into the Albion Estate from the Public road) and my cows went Guava Bush Street./ The catcher dem pass and go and pick up dem cow and bring dem. So me ask dem where dem carrying the cow and they said they taking it to the pound.
“Me tell dem seh me grazing dem cow because me deh with dem and the police run out with he gun and tell we to stay at the corner. An officer come out the car and seh if anybody try to trouble dem cow he gon shoot,” the farmer relayed.
Mohabir explained that his animals have been using that route back and forth for a number of years. He stated that it is the normal route he takes to reach home.
“Dem cow got to come out from Guava Bush and dem a walk pon the road (pump dam) to go through back fuh reach Topoo. Since we were small we grazing cow the same route,” he said.
The farmer stated that they managed to secure surveillance footage from a house to show that he was right behind his animals on the Albion road while they were making their way back to Topoo. Mohabir said that he complied after the Lance Corporal threatened him.
The Lance Corporal, however, is not attached to the Albion Police Station so it is unclear why he was with the stray catchers in the Albion district impounding animals with the unit.
Meanwhile, back at the station, Mohabir said he tried to explain to the Station Seargent that his animals were taken from him while he was present and that the animals were not on the public road but were being herded back home from the Albion Estate road leading from the public road.
He said that his pleas fell on deaf ears.
According to Mohabir’s wife, they were told by the Seargent that “when you come here you got to get money and wherever animals deh even if it deh in front you yard it getting impound.” This, the woman said, is “very unfair”.
The woman said they were forced to borrow money to pay to have the cows released yesterday after they spent a night in the pound. They had to pay $8,000 a head (10 cows impounded) and an overnight fee per head of cow at a cost of $400, racking up a total of $84,000.
When the unit was established, the Home Affairs Minister had stated that stray catchers are not authorised to pick up animals that are being attended to by their owners. The current Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan had also adopted the same strategy.
The family has since opted to seek the services of an Attorney to handle the matter since they believe that their animals were wrongfully impounded.
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