Animal cruelty has been generating growing concern in Trinidad and Tobago, particularly as disturbing cases are shared on social media and discussed publicly lately. The issue is clearly striking a nerve and rightly so, but beyond the anger that follows each case, there is another question we should be asking: what can an abused animal tell us about what is happening around it?
When people hear the words “animal abuse”, they usually picture someone beating a dog or deliberately hurting an animal. Those are the cases that make the news and cause public outrage, but animal cruelty does not always look like that.
As a veterinarian, I see animals that have been suffering for days, weeks and sometimes much longer. A wound that was never treated, severe tick infestation, severely underweight animals, dogs kept permanently chained without adequate shelter, pets living in conditions that no animal should have to endure, and so much more.
Sometimes the question is not simply, what is wrong with this animal but rather, how did this happen? Not every injured animal has been abused, as we may know, and animals have accidents such as being hit by vehicles or getting into fights.
We veterinarians are trained to look at the entire picture and ask ourselves: does the history fit the injuries, has treatment been repeatedly delayed, or is the animal unusually fearful?
None of these things alone prove abuse, but sometimes they raise questions that cannot be ignored. This is where veterinary medicine becomes more than treating an injury. The medical record can become evidence, such as photographs, X-rays, laboratory results and detailed descriptions of injuries, which can help establish what happened and may become important in an investigation.
And this is not simply a problem happening somewhere else.
A 2026 study examined 113 suspected animal-abuse cases submitted for necropsy in Trinidad and Tobago between 2008 and 2025. Dogs accounted for 77 per cent of the cases, while trauma was one of the most common confirmed causes of injury or death.
Only 24 of the 113 cases had a confirmed cause of death or manner of injury indicating likely abuse. The researchers also highlighted the difficulty of investigating suspected poisoning cases because of limited toxicology resources. Those numbers raise difficult questions such as: how many cases are never reported or how many animals suffer behind closed doors? Furthermore, how many cases could be investigated more effectively if we had greater forensic resources?
There is another reason we should take animal cruelty seriously. International research has found associations between animal abuse and other forms of violence, including domestic violence. In some abusive relationships, pets may even be deliberately hurt or threatened because the abuser knows how much the animal means to another person. Therefore, when a veterinarian sees an animal with suspicious injuries, there may be more happening in that household than what we can see in the examination room. This is why animal cruelty should not be dismissed as simply an “animal problem” but rather, a community problem.
It is also important for the public to know that animal cruelty is a criminal matter in Trinidad and Tobago. Offences include beating, ill-treating, starving, abusing, torturing or otherwise maltreating animals. Where suspected cruelty is reported, the circumstances and available evidence can be investigated and where the evidence supports an offence, prosecution may follow, with up to five years of jail time and fines of up to $200,000.
If you witness suspected cruelty, report it through the appropriate channels and provide whatever factual evidence you can safely obtain. Please DO NOT put yourself in danger by confronting someone who may be violent. The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has also recently urged members of the public to report suspected animal abuse and has reminded citizens that cruelty to animals is a criminal offence.
As veterinarians, we have a responsibility to listen to what the animal cannot say and have a duty to notice. However, protecting them is not only our responsibility. It requires responsible owners, informed communities, effective enforcement and a willingness to take cruelty seriously.
Dr Kavita Persad (Hons) is a veterinarian at Luna Light Veterinary Clinic. She is committed to preventive healthcare, client education, and compassionate veterinary medicine.
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