In August, at least two people died and several were injured following motor vehicular collisions with untended cattle on Westmoreland roads.

More recently came reports of motorists colliding with cattle on the newly opened May Pen to Williamsfield leg of Highway 2000.

In St Elizabeth, cattle on the loose are not only posing a hazard to motorists they are destroying farmers’ crops.

Similar stories are to be heard all over Jamaica and, indeed, animals leisurely going about their business on our roads are there for all to see.

It’s not just cattle. Other domestic animals, mainly dogs and goats, pose a constant menace to a lesser or greater degree.

Surely, in any well-ordered society, animal pounds would be a given? Yet — while we stand ready to be corrected — checks by this newspaper suggest there is only one such facility currently active here. That’s in St Thomas — run by a private operator contracted to the St Thomas Municipal Corporation.

We hear that a pound which was opened in late 2021 at Myersville in St Elizabeth closed down some time ago. And, in fact, the St Elizabeth Municipal Corporation has served notice it is terminating the contract with that operator.

Mayor of Black River and chairman of the St Elizabeth Municipal Corporation Councillor Derrick Sangster (Jamaica Labour Party, Mountainside Division), says there is an intention to make new arrangements with another contractor.

In Westmoreland, there are plans for a pound to be opened in October.

Animal pounds are not new in Jamaica. Decades ago they were commonplace — usually directly run by local authorities.

Two years ago, just prior to the opening of the Myersville pound, Mrs Daphne Holmes, a former mayor of Black River who is now into her 90s, told this newspaper the humourous story of a female animal pound employee, three decades ago, who controlled cattle by “wringing” their tails.

Gradually, over time, those facilities have mostly closed. Operational costs and the burden on the public purse were undoubtedly major factors.

Costs are among reasons private operators are now being invited to take on the managing of pounds. Operators are expected to recover their costs and make a profit based on fees to recover impounded animals and from auctions when necessary.

We need not be rocket scientists to visualise the cost of covering expenses such as the purchase/rental and maintenance of trucks to collect strays, wages for staff, and feed for impounded animals.

Other challenges that would have carried over from decades ago include training of people to capture, transport, and secure animals.

Also, we suspect, growing disorder and lawlessness are making it increasingly challenging — far more than in decades past — for work crews to round up and secure animals in the face of extreme hostility in some communities.

It’s surely unrealistic to expect the under-manned, over-worked constabulary to provide consistent security.

Given the foregoing, we are not surprised that it is reportedly proving difficult to employ animal catchers in Westmoreland.

We believe the observation this week by Member of Parliament for St Elizabeth South Eastern Mr Frank Witter is right on target.

Said he: “To catch the cow is very difficult, and then there is the fear factor in today’s Jamaica…”

And yet, ways must be found to sustainably deal with stray animals tormenting everyday life. We cannot continue like this.