Land Habitat
Non-profit stops efforts to control feral cats
(CNS): The Department of Environment’s feral cat control project has been stalled again by local animal rights charity Feline Friends as the Grand Court has granted a stay on the rollout of the National Conservation (Alien Species) Regulations. The non-profit organisation has run both a feeding and a trap-neuter-release programme on Grand Cayman for feral […]
100+ acres of natural habitat already at risk this year
(CNS): Since the start of this year, the Central Planning Authority has heard applications for development projects and sub-divisions that threaten well over one hundred acres of primary natural habitat, including mangroves. Despite mounting public support for conservation and significant concerns that development is destroying the environment, in less than two months the CPA has […]
Minister confirms EWA will pave way for development
(CNS): Planning Minister Jay Ebanks, who is responsible for roads, has said that new development along the controversial East-West Arterial Road expansion is inevitable and the government will need to rezone the adjacent parcels so it can control the type of development that happens there. While claiming that the road project will only impact 1% […]
High cost of EWA could make project prohibitive
(CNS): It is now about eight years since the government estimated that extending the East-West Arterial Road from Hurst Road all the way to Frank Sound, based only on materials and labour, would cost as much as $70 million, according to information released by the government under the Freedom of Information Law and shared with […]
Official gazette doesn’t set EWA plans in stone
(CNS): Comments by former East End MP Arden McLean at a public meeting in Savannah Thursday evening, which stirred up social media, were misleading, according to local attorney Steve McField. McLean claimed that because the East-West Arterial Road extension was gazetted in 2005, the decision had been made.
Premier: Evidence shows TNR can’t solve cat threat
(CNS): Trap-neuter-release (TNR) programmes cannot address the overpopulation of feral cat colonies across the Cayman Islands, Premier Wayne Panton said, as he defended the rollout of the Alien Species Regulations and the introduction of control programmes aimed at saving Cayman’s threatened endemic and native species.
Rules on invasive species ‘gross’, say animal activists
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Humane Society has called the new rules surrounding invasive species “gross” and “an unnecessary, disproportionate” response to the problem of feral animals and “a drastic regression for animal welfare”. As the public backlash continues against efforts to protect Cayman’s threatened endemic and native species, the non-profit organisation has claimed that none […]
Chickens not the target of new conservation rules
(CNS): No one is going to jail for feeding animals in their own yards, even wild chickens, the Department of Environment has said. The regulations relating to the control of alien species come into force today, but over the last week social media has exploded with misinformation about the new rules, which have been drawn […]
Multiple threats from EWA detailed in ToR
(CNS): The terms of reference (ToR) for the environmental impact assessment of the East-West Arterial Road extension, released by the Department of Environment Monday, outline many of the potential negative impacts this controversial road will have on nature and society that will need to be closely examined during the process. Covering seven defined areas, from […]
DoE battles misinformation over feral cat cull
(CNS): The Department of Environment’s effort to control invasive species and the growing detrimental impact on endemic and local species have met with a significant amount of misinformation recently, especially on social media. The rollout of the alien species regulations that provide a lawful, clear platform for the control of feral animals and protection of […]
Just two public meetings set to discuss EWA extension
(CNS): The National Conservation Council is expected to publish the completed draft terms of reference (ToR) for an environmental impact assessment of the controversial East-West Arterial Road extension on Monday. The ToR will form the subject of a public consultation process lasting 21 days that includes, so far, only two public meetings, one in North […]
