Petition to bring Dominica’s donkey torturer to book gains traction
by Dr. Piyush Mathur
Global support is growing for an online petition to get justice for a donkey who was tied to an automobile and dragged down the road before being left to die fastened to a tree. A long, gruelling attempt to save the animal, named Toby, had failed earlier in May.
Floated and circulated by the Los Angeles-based Lady Freethinker (LFT)—an impactful organisation within the field of animal justice—the petition has, as of June 27, garnered over 41,000 signatures from people around world.
The backstory
This case of brutal animal abuse took place in Dominica, an island nation-state in the Caribbean, and was first reported on Instagram on March 22 by Saint Nicholas Animal Rescue (SNAR), a local organisation dedicated to animal welfare.
In the organisation’s Instagram video footage, one can see the extensively bruised donkey sitting sadly behind some bushes—before being carefully lifted over to the road by rescuers using a rope, and being assisted in his walk toward and into their van in the dark of the night.
Dominica’s non-governmental organisation Saint Nicholas Rescue notified the world via the above Instagram post
when it first noticed a tortured donkey, called Toby, tied to a tree.
The rescue, the post notes, took place at 1.30 AM; it also points out that Toby had been ‘dragged for over 3 km behind a car’ (though LFT’s petition, which probably has more accurate information collected over a subsequent course of time, mentions a truck). The animal would have very likely died by daybreak failing the rescue, SNAR’s post adds.
An April 2 Instagram post made by SNAR further noted that the creature was somewhere between ‘10 and 20 years’ of age—and would benefit from the company of another donkey, which the organisation did not have, nor could it afford.
Toby’s care itself had been costing SNAR an estimated USD 500 per week.
These images have been sourced, with gratitude, from SNAR’s social media posts pertaining to the failed rescue and rehabilitation of Toby, the tortured donkey of Dominica.
In an update on April 26, SNAR underlined the continued vulnerability of the donkey, highlighting his need for antibiotics and his potential difficulty digesting food owing to his inability to ‘stand or walk on his own’.
The next day, the organisation noted the following (alongside a video of Dr. Jesus Omalie Lopez of the Saint Nicholas University School of Veterinary Medicine or SNU-Vet) explaining the challenges being faced by the tortured creature, who can be seen lying in front of him in the video):
His shoulder is badly injured, and now every day counts. We need a portable equine X-ray to properly assess the damage and give him the treatment he desperately needs.
We are searching everywhere for a used portable X-ray or an equine vet who owns one and is willing to come to Dominica to help Toby.
However, despite SNAR’s efforts, the donkey succumbed to death—announced in a May 9 update posted on an underperforming online fundraiser for him on petfunddr.com.
A May 11 Instagram post—which included a reel—also announced and discussed Toby’s death. This reel is mostly the SNU veterinarians recounting their efforts to save Toby; the nature of his injuries; and his struggle.
In her video address included in SNAR’s Instagram reel, Ms. John Charles—who was part of Toby’s ill-fated rescue-cum-rehabilitation—conveys the message that
it is not right to be cruel to animals in Dominica.
In the reel, Dr. Lopez laments the failure to save the creature, citing the level of medical complexity of his injuries; and Neghaney, a young trainee, reminisces Toby’s ‘spunky side’—his specific, clever attempts to avoid taking medication while being in pain. The reel also includes a statement by Ms. John Charles, who was also part of the rescue-cum-rehabilitation team: She sends out a message to the world that cruelty against animals ‘is not right in Dominica.’
Back to LFT’s petition
Targeting the Director of Public Prosecution at Roseau Magistrate’s Court and the President of Dominica, LFT’s petition claims that an individual has been identified as the suspect behind the torture—and ‘charged with animal abuse and neglect.’
The petition also points out that SNAR had hired a lawyer, through LFT’s financial support, toward prosecuting the suspect.
The petition can be accessed and signed via this link:
https://ladyfreethinker.org/sign-justice-for-toby-donkey-tied-to-truck-and-dragged-down-road/
According to LFT’s website, the organisation was founded in 2013 by Nina Jackel, an American journalist.
Dr. Piyush Mathur is the author of the book Technological Forms and Ecological Communication: A Theoretical Heuristic (Lexington Books, 2017).