LITTLE LONDON, Westmoreland — With yet another crash involving cows walking along the thoroughfare in this section of western Jamaica calls for the reinstatement of an animal pound have intensified.

Last week alone there were three separate incidents involving stray cows along the same roadway. The latest occurred on Friday night and has left a hotel worker hospitalised after his motorcycle reportedly collided with one of the horned animals in Retreat, Little London. It was not immediately clear the seriousness of the latest victim’s injuries.

Frightened by the news of her 23-year-old brother’s injuries, Drika James told the Jamaica Observer that she is deeply concerned by the frequency of these motor vehicle accidents caused by stray animals.

“Something has to be done because this a happen too much now. We see how much people it happen to this week and it can get [worse] because my brother could have lost his life, and no owner is not there. But probably if dem know people did a thief cow, an owner would be there [to manage] their cow,” James bemoaned.

Additionally, James complained that the owners of those animals should exercise more personal responsibility to protect motorists utilising the thoroughfares.

“When raising an animal you have to have the time to spend with it; no way in how much o’clock in the night you a go fi cow. You fi go fi dem and gather them up because the cow just came out unexpectedly on him, and he said if he had swung he would have died,” she recounted.

A 21-year-old police constable, Tajay Ebanks, succumbed to injuries sustained after his service motor vehicle collided with a cow last Sunday. Less than 72 hours later, 22-year-old Christopher Samuels was killed after the car in which he was travelling collided with a cow on Wednesday morning.

The Westmoreland police reported then that around 2:20 am Samuels was an occupant of a Toyota Corolla Axio motor car heading towards Savanna-la-Mar with another man and woman aboard. Upon reaching a section of the roadway a cow walked into the path of the vehicle, causing a collision. The driver of the vehicle then lost control and collided with a tree.

The three occupants of the vehicle sustained serious injuries and were taken to Savanna-la-Mar Public General Hospital where Samuels was pronounced dead and the man and woman hospitalised.

Mayor of Savanna-la-Mar Bertel Moore told the Sunday Observer that plans to reinstate a pound in the Frome area are at an advanced stage.

“We have been working on getting a pound in the Frome area where we were before. We are just going through some legal ramifications at the present to straighten it out, but we are working in conjunction with Pan Caribbean to work on a pound for the parish,” said Mayor Moore.

While expressing condolence to the families of the deceased men Mayor Moore shared that he is deeply touched by the passing of Constable Ebanks, with whom he had shared fond memories. Mayor Moore went on to state that strict actions will be taken against owners of stray animals once a pound is re-established in the parish.

“I have known him and he was a very decent young man, and it really hurts when we lose someone like that, whether from the [Jamaica Constabulary] Force or anywhere,” said the mayor.

He continued, “But the manner [in which] he has lost his life…is very sad, and I must say that these animal owners in the area who just leave their animals to stray all over the place, it’s time they do better than this. And once we get the pound ready, I’m sorry, but we are going to pick up anything that we see straying on the streets because we cannot afford to lose human beings in this manner. It is really sad.”

For his part, Deputy Mayor Ian Myles (Little London Division) told the Sunday Observer that he has been pleading that a pound be brought back into the parish for a number of years. The councillor explained that these frightening motor vehicle accidents involving stray cows have been plaguing his division.

“I brought it up a couple of years ago, the need for the reinstatement of a pound, and it came as a result of the number of incidents that would have been taking place within the division at that time — including fatal crashes, broken limbs — because of crashes…all with animals. The stray animals have been a nuisance for a number of years and that is why I asked the council to expedite the reinstatement of a pound,” said Myles.

At the same time, Myles said the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation needs to work assiduously to have the issue resolved.

“But the council has been dragging its feet. They have done the engagement, but for the nature and urgency of this it is something that should have been dealt with. It is bothersome, to say the least, and as the leader you can imagine the frequency at which my phone rings,” Myles told the Sunday Observer.

He added, “We have to get it actioned, and I will be discussing it this month. We have called for a special sitting of the council for the month of August and that will be on the agenda.”