Shock campaign brings animal welfare into open
Tuesday 29th June 2010, 2:30PM BST.
Sue Vidamour closed her animal charity partly because of frustration with the island’s laws on mistreatment and has now launched a drive to make people aware of the level of cruelty. (Picture by Steve Sarre, 0988863)
A CAMPAIGN promoting animal welfare has been launched today with the publication of shocking images taken over a decade in Guernsey.
Bin bags full of dead and decaying rabbits, hundreds of guinea pigs kept in hutches in a locked shed without food and water in 36C heat and alive but rotting dogs are just some of the cases the driving force behind Promoting Animal Welfare – Sue Vidamour – has come across.
The Animal Aid founder’s charity recently closed after 13 years, in part due to disillusionment with the island’s animal welfare policy.
And she is now calling for a joined-up proactive approach to prevent unnecessary suffering through Paw.
It aims to bring animal welfare to the forefront of public awareness so that the appropriate legislation can be introduced and enforced as soon as possible.
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Exactly what is needed.
Good luck Sue!
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Perhaps everybody that keeps any kind of animal should be licensed and have to be regularly inspected.The fee payable should cover all costs of inspection and policing of animal welfare,too many people say they are animal lovers but do not look after their pets properly overfeeding is also a form of cruelty.
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I love animals and all human life like most people do but have never been a pet owner. However, the photos you have published in the Press today have sickened me and made me comment for the first time ever.
I love Guernsey, sing its great attributes to anyone who will listen. But never did I believe this sort of neglect could be going on over here. What frightens me even more, if this has been kept under wraps for so long,is there anything more we should be concerned about?
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Why are the States taking so long on this, do they think its not important? How come when the States want some thing done that is of benifit to them its goes through straight away, however if its something they have no interest in or it financialy has no gain for them they take what seems forever.come on you States the local people want this NOW before any more helpless animals have to suffer, and Sue there’s no keeping you down is there, your a born saint!!
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All well and good – except when those defining cruelty have no idea what they’re talking about. Say for example Running Ducks needing ponds…
Yes people ought to be able to be banned from keeping pets/livestock if they can’t/won’t look after them, but lets get our priorities straight and not go overboard (as so often happens with emotionally charged issues such as this).
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Good luck sue. There is no need for this, It makes me sick to think that people can treat animals this way. A message to all! If you don’t like animals or can’t be bothered to look after them properly then don’t get them.ANIMALS HAVE FEALINGS TO
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A few weeks ago I was looking into getting hold of photos like the ones in the press, I was going to find a way of making it public. When I opened the paper I saw my exactly what I was thinking of doing. I give Sue 100% of my backing. People need to see this is a real issue. Anyone who does anything to an animal deserves to be punished. All the best Sue and friends! C’mon states sort it out!
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This might make me a little unpopular, but distressing as those images are, I am somwhat perplexed as to why it means to quote I le page above “everybody that keeps any kind of animal should be licensed and have to be regularly inspected”.
The images, by Sue’s own admission were taken over a 10 year period (admittedly, she claims to have seen more).
Given the number of people and animals/pets on the island, the number that are mistreated will be very small indeed.
Also, you risk criminalising, or at least being sususpicious of perfectly law abiding people. We actually found a pretty sorry looking moggie two days ago meowing around my house. We contacted the GSPCA and it turned out that their owners who had just moved had lost it 8 weeks ago and they were overjoyed to have it back.
So, two weeks later, they get their “inspection” and are then, if even for a short time, under investigation for their emaciated cat. It would be wrong.
Mistreatment of animals is appalling, but I for one would rather the resources be put towards ending the cycle of abuse some of our children are in through no fault of their own.
Let’s keep this one in perspective.
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Meeshka, I agree with you, but I just think that children come first.
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I have to admit, i couldnt look at the pictures they were too upsetting!
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Billythefish
All human life at risk, be it children, elderly, mentally ill, physically disabled, whatever, should come before animal welfare. Granted animals can’t look after or speak for themselves, but then neither in a large majority of cases can vulnerable humans beings.
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I am a 100% with the welfare Act being put in place. It is need a 100% on this island. As i have worked for GSPCA and Animal aid.
The only thing that made me mad with sue, is the photos. I know a number of the backgrounds of photos and the cases of the animals in the photos. They shouldn’t have been using in the press. The fact of the photos, there do not paint a true story of the animals in Guernsey. E.g how or why there got like that in the first place.
Sue why did you do this??
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I don’t think it’s a case of Animal Welfare OR Human Welfare. Surely we have the resources to look at both? As far as I’m aware there’s legislation protecting vulnerable humans but not a lot protecting animals. Granted legislation can be improved, however, we’re never going to get to the point where something is perfect therefore why should we put things permanently on the back burner?
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Oh how strange my little picture by my name has changed but it’s the same Lynnie!
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Lynnie,
You mis-typed your email address in an earlier post. The Gravatars (that’s the ‘little pictures’) use email addresses to assign a random graphic, so if the email changes so does the picture.
The earlier mis-spelling has now been corrected so all your messages once more have the same Gravatar
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@so called animal lover.what is your point?and tell us what is the true story behind these photoes? And what excuse can you give for these photoes.
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The real problem is that the Law Officers, an undemocratic organisation with no accountability to the people of Guernsey prioritise their own work and drafting an animal welfare law is not even on their list of work.
How interesting but typical that the Law Officers did not return the GP reporter’s call. Why should they? It doesn’t matter how much of a campaign there is in Guernsey, St James’s Chambers is deaf to anyone but mandarins in the Department for Constitutional Affairs in London. Any groundswell for a fast tracking of this law is doomed at the start.
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@ coco – I was making the point that not all the photos are right. Its show only one part of the a story. Some of the photos are very bad and should be show to the public. I am not giving any EXCUSE.
Coco do you know much about animal care? and how animals sometime do things when owners are not there. You cant be watching them all day and night.
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I agee with coco what is the truth?
I know for a fact that photos given to the guernsey press by sue vidamore are of an animal that was under vet supavision at the time and not of a mistreated animal,
what i’d like to know is why are you using photos of injured animals and calling them mistreated,
You should not be using there’s as propaganda for you own needs, if you want the people of guernsey to back you then be honest with them.
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@A L yes I do know about animal care as I have 3 dogs 2 cats and 2 horses, and I know for that I would not let any of my animals get into that state. I take it one of your animals must have bean pictured, for you to get so defensive
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How, exactly, can the experience of one lost cat assist someone in summising accurately how much or little animal cruelty there is in Guernsey?
Stats analysed on a ‘one case only’ basis is a first for me, BTF, how is it you appear to have more knowledge than someone who’s made it her life’s work? What industry do you work in?
I’d also ask the question, how can the subject of FINALLY getting some much needed, proper animal welfare laws finally put in place, drag out the ol’ ‘children/people come first’, argument, for god’s sake?
Seriously, how is that even vaguely relevant to the subject matter (not other’s comments)..?
This is about getting some proper laws in place to protect animals. It’s not about ‘putting animals before, children/people’ or some sort of imagineered ‘either/or’ situation, where we can ‘save the chil-drun’ or ‘waste’ resources on animals.
The States ‘waste’ resources on causes far less worthy than any I’ve stated here each and every day. They’ve been ‘prioritising’ absolutely EVERYthing and ANYthing that involves people (above getting these laws passed) for years and years…
that’s why people are complaining that they haven’t been passed yet!
Why shouldn’t they spend a modicum of their precious time that we pay for, bringing our island up to the same standard as the rest of the modern world we’re part of, instead of leaving us living in the dark ages with toothless policing of animal cruelty.
As Ghandi once said, “you can judge a nation’s moral progress by how it treats its animals.”
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Stilleto, you might have misunderstood – I agree with you, but just focussed on children as I’m a recent parent so the feelings are quite raw.
Scarlett, the reason I explained the lost cat was to illustrate just one of the potential dangers of forcing all owners to register every gerbil etc. If you can’t see the point I am making, then that says more about your possibly blinkered view.
And I nearly dropped my bacon sandwich when I read your assertion that “kids (etc) come first” have nothing to do with the argument.
It has everything to do with the argument. If I found out that my children had come to harm because resources had been spent ensuring that Tiddles has a fresh bowl of spring water every 6 hours, I would probably feel like doing some nasty things to the people who directed the resources in that direction.
I am not saying that every cause should be put back, you could quite happily say the same thing about most causes – ie why Living Streets when there’s poverty around, but we do need people to make others aware of things, but we shouldn’t lose focus of what’s truly important – our fellow person.
Finahlly, I’d be interested to know more about this point that Animal Lover and others have made – it would appear that injured animals may be paraded as mistreated animals. Totally proving the point I was making earlier re the missing cat.
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I think we have another case of the press adding drama to a general/informative set of circumstances. Ok, Guernsey’s animal rights laws could do with updating perhaps, but to make out that Guernsey has significant numbers of people abusing their animals is an absolute farce. There will always be people who do things to animals that most of us decent people will never understand, but in Guernsey I would hardly say sever animal abuse is a majorly pressing issue in the scale of things.
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Could-a, should-a, would-a….
your ‘either/or’ argument IS utter nonsense, and is not the case on this occasion, BTF, rather, it seems to be the over tired, over child-centric imagineering of a new parent, who spends far too much time awake in the wee small hours.
Don’t worry, the first 18 years are the worst.
If you’re so genuinely worried about the kiddies losing out because the States MAY spend a little time passing some much needed animal laws, then you should be going absolutely BALLISTIC and be actively campaigning against all the other total tosh the States have wasted countless hours and millions of our pounds on over the years.
We’re not in Africa here, we’re a particularly wealthy part of the Western world, with police, a judicial system, child protection laws, excellent education, healthcare, social services, benefits, public transport…
in fact, an infrastructure that a lot of people in other parts of the world would give their left arm for.
It seems, from your comments, that you somehow already know the resources required for these laws is going to be considerable (certainly enough so to argue the point…I thought only fortune tellers could see the future…?) yet in contradiction, you’ve also affirmed that there isn’t much animal cruelty here (Sue must be so relieved to know she imagined it), so please, point out exactly where ‘all’ these ‘wasted’ resources should really be directed to…
I really want to know, so I can make a less ‘blinkered’ judgement of your remarks.
You summed up your current thinking process, understanding of animal welfare and indeed, what the current/proposed laws actually are, with your ridiculous ‘Tiddles/spring water’ comment…
seriously, get some sleep.
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I can understand the frustration on a potential delay to solve what can only be described as a sensitive and moving issue, but the fact of the matter is that the States do have more important things to debate.
The long term financial future of Guernsey depends on such important debates, however as there is very very little public coverage of these debtates about new legislation introduced and its impact on the average guern, I can understand why this is generating such support.
It is true that more needs to be done to protect animals, but in an island, if you are cruel to animals, it wont take long for you to be found out.
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Dear-oh-dear a nerve appears to have been touched. Let’s deal with it, shall we.
Firstly, your somewhat pitiful attemps to denigrate my argument as being one driven by child-induced fatigue. My children sleep 7 till 7 actually, so no problems there.
I’m not so much concerned at the small amount of time the States would spend debating, but the possibility of, in my view, misdirection of resources afterwards, as illustrated, tongue in cheek, (for those too dull to realise) by Tiddles and his Evian.
The point has been far better made by those who suggest that some of the pictures published thus far are of injured rather than mistreated animals. This does not mean, again, for the short of mind, that I am affirming something myself. Just that, as others have said, it could easily be that people are incorrectly tarred with the “mistreater” brush.
Re your call for me to campaign. Firstly, how do you know I’m not! Actually, I think that work done for international tax harmony, economic development, social housing, environmental issues, waste, sewage, education and health are all of equal priority and I applaud them for doing so. I don’t like some of the backtracking, but there you go!
Yes, we’re not Africa, yet despite all the things you list, there is a great deal of abuse of people going on in Guernsey, which tells me we need to do more here.
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@ coco – no, none of my animals are in the photos. i know for a fact that some of photos are not what they look like.
You cant watch animals day and night. things happen, like cuts etc.
just think of animals in the wild or animal in poor places.
Just think sue was very wrong put these photos out in the media with no true info.
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Billyfish I take it you do not care for animals, well I don’t care for childen I don’t realy like them rather so would that make it ok if I turned the other way if I was to see one being mistreated? Or protest against laws for then? Not that I would because any living thing should have protection
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If some of those photos were not of actually mistreated animals, then Sue Vidmour and the GP should be printing an explanation.
It’s no wonder legislation might take so long when one of it’s chief champions resorts to being economical with the truth.
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coco in billthefish’s defence he has never said either of your statements.
Most people would have something to say against an animal being abused the same as most people would speak up over a child being abused.
I don’t think this is a case of either/or. If one HAD to be taken precedent over another then yes it should be the child welfare laws, but that’s not what’s being discussed.
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Green Monster.
Good point re law officers. Incidentally how many are there now? I was told that they number somewhere near 20 lawyers there. Most on £80k to £100k. This office has grown massively over the last 10 years or so and must cost the taxpayer a fortune. But they have the time to prosecute the small stuff in the magistrates court that was done by police inspectors perfectly well for many years.
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BTF. I owe you a HUGE apology (please note my solemn tone)
I have just learned the devastating news that, because of the animal welfare debate, the States will NOT have time or resources to debate and implement the following proposed child related laws:
Catching the school bus to be banned, as it’s uncool, and instead, all parents to drive large, expensive 4 x 4s, regardless of the size of their brood, thus saving the kiddies suffering/embarrassment in front of their peers when being dropped off at school.
The whole island is to be made a 20 mph zone, everywhere, all the time, just in case a deprived child is forced to use the pavement in the torturous old fashioned tradition called, ‘walking to school’
– note, parents to be prosecuted for forcing them to do so.
All children over the age of 5 to be issued with an iPhone, iPod, iPad and designer trainers (only) with immediate effect.
All children over the age of 3 to have their own laptop and flat screen TV in their room, (plus unrestricted access to the internet & TV) on demand, as telling them ‘no’ is damaging to their self esteem, and may well effect their personal development.
…and those are just some of the things those poor loves are missing out on because of this pesky animal thingy debate…damme la, I tell you, Billy!
I would have dropped my copy of ‘Because You’re Worth It, the 21st Century Children’s Guide to How You Have the Same Rights As Adults, Are the Centre of Your Own Universe, and Should be Given Everything Now, for Nothing’, had I not lent it to the Church Square yoofs in an effort to alleviate their boredom, which they did, bless them, by ripping it up and using it as a cushion…
but still, I was shocked!
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i have always thought that sue vid has been her own worst sentimental enemy in her public attempts to gain support. there has to be a limit to what you can do for animals given your resources – some animals should be put down humanely rather than use up finite resources and threaten the whole show. sue has given up but the gspca still go on and they are probably more harder headed so continue to achieve.
my first thoughts of sue vid’s pics were – over what period of time were these taken? i hope the gp were well convinced they were all neglect and not just accident.
but I certainly accept there is unacceptable neglect and the law needs to help. if our cuckoo bankers get their laws passed ahead of everyone else time and time again that is also unacceptable. perhaps there should be a limit beyond which any law change can no longer be be relegated.
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This isnt a competition of which issues/laws needs the most attention…
This is a debate to address animal cruelty.
Truth is, as pointed out by Billy, who’s list I dont agree a single item of being more deserving of attention than this issue, everyone will have a different opinion on which deserve more priority.
Arguing the merits of which is pointless on this thread.
We have the same “who deserves it more” argument every time someone campaigns for a law, for example Gay marriage rights, a couple of months ago.
Although I’ll leave you with a funny little story related to this.
When I was 12, a drunken lout passing our garden(who looked to be about 21 at the time), decided he wanted to trespass into our garden to throw a brick at the family dog (A shih-tzu), he threw the brick just catching her hind leg, thankfully causing no permanent damage other than a fear of strangers, I witnessed this whole event and ran into my garden, picked up the brick and threw it at his head, narrowly missing him, although his mate, who was watching the whole thing and egging him on, suddenly decided that the police needed to be involved as his mate had been “assaulted”.
Guess who was in more trouble?? The 12 year old protecting his dog, or the 2 drunken 20 somethings who instigated the event, thats riiiiight people you guessed it, the 12 year old kid. And why is that I hear you cry???
Yes there are laws defending drunken yobs from being attacked, but nothing protecting animals!!
The upshot of this fact, to me, says to any muppet who doesnt really care about animals that they can get away with it. Maybe its not as rife as Sue has intimated, but fact is, animals need protection from idiots like this.
Why should I have to let my dog be hurt because there are no laws protecting her??
Anyway, the story has a happy ending, my intervention meant no permanent damage to the dog, I was too young to get into any real trouble, and I always remembered his face, so when I saw him in the pub some ten years later when I was in my early twenties and having significantly grown since our last encounter …. well lets just leave it there shall we ;-) .
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Greg – therein lies the credibility problem that has dogged Animal Aid for years.
There is a massive difference between an animal in distress and one which is (or has been) abused or mis-treated.
One of the pictures published (from memory) showed a prolapsed uterus – which is pretty horrific. However, there would only be “abuse” if the condition was left unattended.
I once tried in vain with a vet and a farmer to sort out a prolapse on a cow that had recently calved – most unpleasent experience – and if any photo had been taken it would have looked like major abuse!
Animal welfare laws do need to be updated but publishing imotive and misleading photos will not help the cause.
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Scarlett – I love debating with you – I think we both know the points the other are making, but the way we do makes me laugh, at least!
Actually, a couple of others have made the point that this isn’t about what comes first, but whether it should be done. And actually, I don’t have a problem at all with the need to increase the level of protection afforded to pets, as the level of sadistic prats has certainly gone up over the years.
I’m just cautious as to how it would be packaged and policed, as Gilthead alluded to. Coco, I do care for animals, but as others have said, I have no problem at all in ranking any person above an animal.
But yes, that’s not what the story is.
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ACtually, just seen today’s press where Sue V misses the point. Owners come foward, particularly the pony owner’s relative, to say that actually the animal was being treated. Sue V gets a call, leaps to the conclusion of abuse, and off she goes.
We had a similar problem with one of our cats, bless him. Started getting badly cracked paws, bleeding etc. Took him to the vets maybe 4 or 5 times over a month, tried a few things and it turned out to be some kind of syptom of an overactive immune system.
Point is, had someone just seen him with his paws like that and called Sue, we could easily have been accused of mistreatment, or, apparently have his paws in the paper, where nothing was further from the truth!!!
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and I you, Billy…goodness, we agree after all ;0)…!
I understand there are many, many important things this island needs to sort out (it’s leaders being one of them), equally that our hairy, furry friends (the animals, not the politicians) need protection.
I sincerely hope that in the wake of many years of the States p8ssing our tax money up the wall (3.4 mill for an incinerator we haven’t got, anyone…?) there is something left in the coffers to sort out some other things, as well….
but I’m not holding my breath…!
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@ coco no I don’t own the animal but I do know a lot about its history,
Billythefish
As the animal was being treated by the vets then perhaps SUE V should apologise
For any distress caused to the owner, for using these photos especially as the owner
Didn’t even know they existed until they were seen in the paper.
HOW HONEST IS THAT?
If some one takes photos of animals that are mistreated as SUE V claims
Then why hide them for 4 years???
I have a very good computer program and I can change or add things to
Any photo I want, its not rocket science these days,
I’m not saying this has been done, but why uses photos of an animal that was old, unwell and being treated by the vet, then call it mistreated
After all if you want people to trust you then why lie,
And as Gilthead has said, lies the credibility problem that has dogged Animal Aid for years.
Whether its animals or people we all get hurt at some point, the only difference is
animal can’t tell us.
when we see a child with a cut or a bruise from falling over, should we call it child abuse or is it just an accident.
Perhaps SUE V think animals don’t have accident or get sick or old, after all the pony
was 38 years old, might not sound old to most, but in human years that’s 83 years old, I only hope I get that old.
I love animals, and I’m all for animal welfare, Animal welfare is needed and campaigners can make a difference, but if you tell lies then your just going to get peoples backs up, and not help, But Be honest and you will get more people backing you.
So come on SUE V do the descent thing and apologise and stop using the photos of this pony or any other sick animals THAT HAVE NOT BEEN MISTREATED.
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I’m with Sue 100%. The animals need help and protection, the sooner the better. The children at least have some protection. Animals have feelings too but they can’t ask for help. As for you THE MAN, I hope you gave that yob a good pasting when you met him 10 years later in the pub. Good on yer!
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instead of discussing whether or not the photos in the guernsey press are actually cruelty/neglect cases or not….
here’s an idea….
why not phone sue vidamour and actually ask her?!
maybe she would be happy to answer your questions? maybe the answers might be a little more honest than the people whose neglect cases they actually are?!
and maybe give her some credit for sticking her neck out to potential grief from those who really have no idea…
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@ JEAN – i would like to talk to you about your comments about the photos. i am 100% behind you. I am not to sure how to contact you
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i think if you contact the guernsey press they can email me with your contact details.
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Guernsey press how do i contact some one on here???
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Animal Lover –
If you want to email someone direct, please send your email to us, telling us who you wish to contact, and we will pass on your details.
Our email is thisisguernsey@guernsey-press.com
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@ Jean – I have email the guernsey press there will pass my email address to you. please would you contact me. thank you
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I hope we are not going to see this campaign as a launch of Animal Aid Mark 2 ?
The GSPCA do a wonderful job.
Sure there are bad people about but this campaign is in my opinion a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
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@ Chris
all Very true
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We’ve been talking about better animal welfare laws for years. If ours are deficient compared to the expamles of other countries, then it is an easy fix in order to raise our standards, even if the cases are not of epidemic proportions.
Recently I was at the vets when Sue brought in a cat with a massively weeping ear – the ear was rancid, the cat in major distress and the owners were not doing anything about it. If abuse or neglect can be proved but our laws cannot do anything about it, then something is wrong.
Why not introduce better laws to try to stop these cases? Where is the downside?
Chris – Yes, the GSPCA are wonderful but, as they will tell you, they have a different mandate from the one that Animal Aid had. The GSPCA are a re-homing centre, not a permanent shelter.
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