St. Maarten Private Eye

Hi Flipper I congratulate you on your site and particularly the dolphin thread. Your site has been used to promote all sorts of lofty goals. But I am disappointed at the lack of consistency. You battle every form of animal abuse .... but you never challenge our Zoo...? Oh .. it is not ok to have a dolphin in captivity but a monkey from the Amazon is fine? Who draws the line? We protest a visiting giraffe being kept in a tent.... on the pondfill......but apparantly have no problem with the 200 plus animals frying up in cages only down the road in Madams Estate ? You want to show your unbiased, un-politicised power - get the zoo shut down. You want to see cruelty ? Go there..... Really want to accomplish something ? Get it shut down.......

Thank you for your appretiation of the site, I'm glad you like it. I will attempt to answer your questions.

First of all, about this site. It is a community site and athough most people on the island are either computer novices, afraid to write, don't have time or can't be bothered, we do now have 5 or 6 writers who contribute once or twice a month. You too can come and write and if you have photos and evidence of animal abuse at the zoo then we would be happy to have you tell us about it.

Secondly, you have to keep in mind that the writers all have jobs and families, most are struggling just to pay bills, like myself, and we don't really have time to be full time reporters and writers. One of the main parts of this site is the news library which you can find in the main threads, there are now over 6700 clippings, photos and blogs in there, plus another 1500 comments from readers. Keeping this up to date is a big chore, it takes several hours to scan and post the main news each day and even though I have some help, it still takes up most evenings.

The Blogs are opinion pieces really, they are there for others to oppose, argue against, dispute or agree with, there are no restrictions on comments except that they add to the discussion in an intelligent manner. If you for example disagree with something then you are able to say so, but we expect you to explain why.

I would like to also say that SXM PE is not unbiased and in the current political climate cannot be unpoliticized.. I explained this in a comment or article some time back and I will do so again to save the trouble of searching for it.

We want to see a slowdown if not a complete stop on major developments until stock of the current social structure, infrastructure, labor market and the environment is taken. Just how exactly do our leaders plan to provide the island with food, water and energy in the future, to me it seems they have their heads stuck in the sand, or somewhere else. When you have politicians in power who are set on a headlong rush 'at all costs' and who put all their faith in a 'trickle down' economic policy then there can only be opposition if you think this is wrong.

It is a catch 22, there is no escape. When groups opposed the Dawn Bach project because of their environmental concerns, Roy and his henchmen started accusing them of having hidden agenda's or being political, the same happened with EWE. This is a BS attack method that these kind of people use, the next step is to call them 'anti-St Maartener' because they are standing in the way of jobs. G. W. Bush uses it to counter criticism by claiming those who think his policies are a disaster are anti-American or on the side of terrorists.

What do you do? Me, I really couldn't care less what party someone was from, I do not follow any color. I look for a politician who stands for the things that are important to me and whom I feel will do the best job providing a secure and healthy future for the island, my home. I have said many times that I think Gracita is the only one who comes close, but the problem is, she can't be an ExCo on her own.

Put simply, if Roy thinks it's ok to destroy the environment and you don't, then even though your concern is the environment, your position will also be political because it is in opposition to his.

So, as a result of wanting good and transparent government, as a result of wanting thoughtful and environmentaly friendly development, as a result of wanting a society where people do not have to be afraid of opposing the power's that be for fear of recrimination of somekind and as a result of wanting the youth of the island to have a future, yes, this site is biased and political, it can't be helped.

That said, Roy Marlin and others are welcome to come here and write if they want, as long as they are prepared to have what they say questioned, as anyone who writes should be.

Now, about the Zoo.

From my own perspective, I really don't have a problem with Zoos' in general, providing that they give their occupants as much as a natural environment as needed and that they are treated well, I'd prefer the animals to all be captive bred too. I think they are educational and many zoos do a great deal towards protecting endangered species.

I doubt if our zoo lives up to these things, but then there is no legistlation to ensure that they do. Once there is legistlation then the zoo can be forced to live up to it or close down. This is the key to any progress for animal rights and protection from abuse, without it there is little anyone can do except try to stay in place. Legistlation and a shelter would be a big step forwards for all animals, including those at the zoo.

I am not a vegitarian, it's been a long time but I do like a steak, nor am I supportive of the extremes that organisations like PETA use, I think it is counter productive. Your questions actually sound like those Lloyd Richardson used when attacking those who campaigned against the Dolphinarium, he said we should also campaign to free all the goldfish too. Sorry, but I think the guy really has no clue about dolphinariums or circuses, there is a difference from zoos and pets.

If I get time myself I may take a trip down there with my camera, or maybe another reader or writer will and send us their report and photos, you could do it too if you like, the email address is sxmpe at gmail dot com.

At the end of the day, the real power rests and will always rest with the people and people who are better informed make better choices, in all things, including who to give their vote to.

Flipper

Can't nail people for breaking laws that don't exist, can't nail em if there is no one enforcing these laws either. This is St. Maarten. Not to say that the zoo is a small deal, just that there are many other much bigger problems, really with the same problem, lack of laws and lack of enforcement. Where do you start? There are many stories that haven't been covered, there are just too many.

In reality, isn't this a job for the local newspapers and the animal welfare groups anyway? We know the only stories in the press about the zoo are to try to get more people to go there and we know the AW groups have no money and few volunteers, the problems are overwhelming really, they can only do so much. I am not not against zoos either, but only if they have adequate space and habitat for the animals and if they are treated well. Also, I think they all should be captive born, not taken from the wild, unless in the cases of the big zoos who are trying to save endangered species through breeding programs.

Certainly our Zoo needs a look at, the writer of the post should go take some photos and show us why he is wants it closed down, I'm sure there are reasons and by highlighting them here maybe we can pressure them to fix them.

Local Hero