As a resident of Fitches Creek, I am writing with a mixture of anger, sadness and disbelief over an incident that should concern not only the residents of Fitches Creek, but anyone who cares about the environment and the direction in which our country is heading.

A dead dog was recently dumped into the Fitches Creek Pond, carefully wrapped in black garbage bags and what appeared to be crocus bags.

Let that sink in for a moment.

Someone looked at a pond that had recently been cleaned and cleared of years of illegal dumping, a pond that residents have worked hard to restore and maintain, and decided that it was an appropriate place to dispose of the body of an unwanted pet.

How do you look at a clean, beautiful pond and see a dumping ground?

The Fitches Creek Residents Association has invested time, effort and care into improving this area. The recent cleanup removed accumulated garbage and overgrown vegetation, and beautiful pink water lilies were carefully planted as part of the effort to transform the pond into something the community could be proud of.

This was not an invitation to start dumping there again.

It is disrespectful to the residents who have worked to improve the area. It is disrespectful to the people who live nearby and have to witness this kind of behaviour. Most importantly, it is disrespectful to the environment and the wildlife that depend on these wetlands.

Fitches Creek is part of an environmentally significant coastal and wetland landscape associated with the North East Marine Management Area. Conservation documentation identifies Fitches Creek wetlands within this broader area, which contains important coastal, marine and wetland habitats.

The pond is also home to fish and a variety of birdlife. Among the birds associated with Antigua and Barbuda’s wetland habitats is the West Indian Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna arborea), a Caribbean species currently classified as Near Threatened.

These are not empty spaces waiting for someone to dispose of whatever they no longer want.

They are habitats.

They are part of our natural environment.

And they belong to all of us.

The dumping of a dead animal into a wetland also raises obvious environmental concerns. As the body decomposes, it can affect water quality and the surrounding ecosystem. Wrapping it in plastic bags only adds another form of waste to an area that residents have already worked to clean.

But this incident is bigger than one dog.

It is about the culture of illegal dumping that continues to plague our communities.

People dump household garbage, old appliances, construction waste, vegetation, mattresses, animal waste and all manner of unwanted items in gullies, ponds, bush and other areas where they believe nobody is watching.

And then someone has to clean it up.

Usually, that someone is the community.

The irony is that Fitches Creek has already demonstrated what can happen when residents take ownership of their surroundings. The community has been actively involved in environmental protection, biodiversity and waste-management initiatives, including work supported through projects addressing illegal dumping and environmental awareness within the NEMMA communities.

So why should residents have to repeatedly clean up after people who refuse to take responsibility for their own waste?

We need stronger enforcement against illegal dumping, but we also need a change in attitude.

A pond is not a landfill.

A mangrove is not a landfill.

A roadside is not a landfill.

A gully is not a landfill.

And a beautiful community project that people have worked hard to restore certainly is not a place to dispose of a dead pet.

I would also like to acknowledge and thank the officers of the Parham Police Station who responded and carried out their investigation so that we could determine what was inside the package. We also express thanks to Solid Waste Management and Mr. King who responded promptly and removed the dog’s rotting body from the pond. Their assistance was greatly appreciated.

Whoever dumped that dog should be ashamed of what they did. But more importantly, I hope this incident prompts authorities and the wider community to take illegal dumping more seriously.

We cannot continue cleaning the same places only to have them treated as dumping grounds again.

Fitches Creek residents should not have to choose between enjoying the natural beauty of their community and constantly cleaning up after people who have no regard for it.

We have to do better.

Our wetlands deserve better.

Our wildlife deserves better.

And quite frankly, our communities deserve better.

This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: VIDEO: Fitches Creek Resident Condemns Dumping of Dead Dog in Recently Cleaned Pond.