Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 28/12/2025 04:27

Tales and entrails of the unexpected

The back of the Bon Accord Estate is an area I used to frequent on early-morning bike rides. The canals flanking the generally traffic-free road and the expanse of green vegetation were picturesque and soothing to eyes and spirit. In the days when we had our Venus Doggess Of Love “Canine Cottage” in that area, visiting tourists would sometimes take our resident rescue dogs on pleasant walks along that stretch between the canals. Especially when filled and settled after rainfall, the canal waters reflected birds, clouds and trees and teemed with crabs and fish. Birding enthusiasts and photographers also enjoyed the area for its avian wildlife. Having not gone there in ages, I was shocked when I decided to take a drive to the area early last week. Initially struck by the unusual sight of random bits of garbage along the stretch, I was not prepared for what I encountered next – two large animal-feed bags, submerged in dark, stagnant-looking canal waters, with two chickens and several water birds pecking at and around them. As the bags were lumpy and covered in swarms of large black flies, I assumed that they contained animal intestines/body parts (as I have seen that kind of “dumpage” before). Unfortunately, dumping (of the inanimate, dead and living) is so prevalent nowadays, even in the most pristine, unexpected areas, that it is no longer shocking. Around the corner, beyond a large pile of wood and (what appeared to be) pieces of old furniture, I saw that the dumper of the animal parts had probably run out of large feed bags. Floating in the water were the raw entrails of a large animal (possibly a cow or pig). A slab of bloody flesh, encrusted with buzzing green-black flies, lay on the bank nearby. Further on, I was shocked to see a large zandolee, amidst many scattered plastic bottles, viciously ripping at what appeared to be a sliver of raw meat – in a way that reminded me of how lions feast on their prey in documentaries on the wilds of Africa. I mentioned the dumped animal intestines to a friend who lives in the area and he made a report to someone he thought could/would take action. Two days later, having finally got my deflated front bike tyre repaired, I went riding just after dawn, eventually making a stop at Gibson Jetty to check on the colony of stray cats, whom I had not visited in ages. Only three of the usual multitude were there – two emerging from the bushes and one observing me from atop the dumpster. That dumpster (sufficiently sizeable to hold large amounts of rubbish) was empty, but to the left of it was a mountain of garbage that rudely defied the “No Littering” statement clearly branded (along with other directives) on the large neighbouring “Protected Area” signage. Subsequently, riding along the canal stretch, I did not see the dumped animal-parts bags in the same spot, so I believed my friend’s report had been heeded…until I saw the same bags, one further up the canal than the other, clearly moved by the incoming/outgoing tide and now reeking of decomposition. Around the corner, the exposed entrails (now with a withered appearance and rank odour) were still floating in the water. The piece of flesh that had been on the bank, however, was gone. I wondered (with sarcasm) if the zandolee had eaten it. Up ahead, two men and a little girl were chatting at the roadside. I mentioned the dumped entrails to them and one of the men said, with a degree of frustration, that dumping entrails in the waterways happens a lot around Christmas time. Could it be that those entrails are from pigs, slaughtered to meet the season’s high demand for ham? I was also informed there are several cameras along that stretch, but none of them work. Dumping animal parts in waterways is a significant public health and environmental hazard. Unfortunately, my calls to the Division of Health, Wellness and Social Protection were unsuccessful (“That mailbox is full and cannot accept any new messages”…). I followed up with a written report to their e-mail addresses, and this article is a backup. Whose job is it to clean up those rotting entrails? According to a friend of mine, it should be no one’s job, because that kind of dumping should not be taking place at all. The post Tales and entrails of the unexpected appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.