By Michelle McSpadden
Caribbean Net News Staff Reporter
Email: michelle@caribbeannetnews.com
BASSETERRE, St Kitts: The government of St Kitts and Nevis on Tuesday issued a statement defending the position of Ross University of Veterinary Medicine in St Kitts as being within local laws concerning the treatment of animals.
“Ross University is a well established US owned enterprise which has been in existence on the island of St Kitts for more than twenty years and is one of the largest and most respected veterinary schools in the western hemisphere. Hundreds of Ross University graduates practice or teach veterinary medicine successfully, to US standards, on the US mainland and elsewhere,” the statement from the St Kitts and Nevis Ministry of Tourism, Sports & Culture said.
In March, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) held protests at the veterinary school over the alleged maiming and killing of animals and expressed concern regarding experimental procedures on the animals. PETA said that they had written to officials at Ross “outlining students' concerns and explaining that other veterinary schools have switched from using animals to modern, humane alternatives,” but did not receive any response.
PETA also reportedly asked St Kitts Attorney General, Dennis Merchant to investigate the allegations, but that request also went unanswered.
Caribbean Net News attempted to obtain comment from the government of St Kitts and Nevis at the time of the initial reports, but also received no response.
However, the St Kitts government now insists, “The citizens of St Kitts and Nevis are peaceful, hardworking and law-abiding, and do not condone any acts of cruelty anywhere to animals or humans alike. Any insinuation by PETA that our government and people think or behave otherwise is a gross misrepresentation of our proud Caribbean culture and traditions.”
The most recent efforts by PETA included the announcement of a travel boycott of St Kitts, as part of which Las Vegas-based Holiday Systems International (HSI) became the first travel agency to sign on to the campaign.
HSI President and CEO Craig Morganson said that HSI would not allow their clients “the option of booking St Kitts through HSI until such time as their government demonstrates a more civilized respect for animal welfare, and Ross University builds a veterinary teaching hospital and adopts the recommendations outlined by PETA."
The government of St Kitts said in Tuesday’s statement that they perceived the boycott to be a ploy to attract attention by PETA and to force the intervention of the St Kitts government “into a dispute between two privately owned and operated organisations, both of which are headquartered in the United States of America and which operate under US laws “
“The government respects PETA’s right to address issues where they have justification so to do, but their methods in this situation have been outrageous and have disrespected the fact that St Kitts and Nevis is an independent and democratic nation with its own laws. The Government urges PETA to avoid any further escalation of their threats against the international integrity and economic security of St Kitts and Nevis,” the statement concluded.
Tuesday’s press statement was distributed to the media by a New York-based marketing communications agency, Adams Unlimited, which lists the St Kitts Tourism Authority as one of its clients. |
