Gov’t Engages Cattle Owners Amid Ongoing Concerns About Livestock on Roads

Residents have long raised concerns about livestock, especially cattle, straying onto roads and highways across Saint Lucia. One frequent trouble spot is the Choc area in Castries, where wandering animals have repeatedly endangered motorists.

At Monday’s pre-cabinet press briefing, Minister for Agriculture Alfred Prospere addressed the issue in response to a question about an update on the government’s plans to mitigate the risk.

“Just this morning, I got a call from someone who was driving down from the north into Castries,” Prospere said. “I want to make the statement, and I want to make it bold, to say that the government is not responsible for ensuring that residents are safe from our roads. A farmer who is a cattle owner, who is a livestock owner, it’s his responsibility to ensure that his cattle does not move away from the pasture onto the road. 

“But we know. There have been many incidents in the past, and why would someone want somebody to lose their life driving to his home because of somebody’s problem or cattle?”

Prospere revealed that the issue has been under discussion at the Cabinet level. One of the main areas of concern, he said, is Castries North, which continues to record incidents involving free-roaming livestock.

However, the minister shared progress on a potential solution.

“Just last week, we were able to identify an area of land in Vieux Fort,” he said. “We are working with the cattle owners… We had a meeting with a few of them already, and they have agreed to move their animals to the south, to make this problem a thing of the past.”

While the government is supporting a broader solution, Prospere stressed that livestock owners must take individual responsibility.

“I’m calling on all those cattle owners to find a way, find a new mechanism, to at least put a fence around your pasture to avoid those animals posing a risk to persons’ lives,” he urged.