A veteran veterinary professional is sounding the alarm over the state of Antigua and Barbuda's livestock industry, warning that decades of neglect, shrinking farmland, and weak law enforcement are pushing the sector toward collapse — and endangering lives on the nation's roads.
According to Antigua Observer, Dr. Radcliffe Robins, who has practiced veterinary medicine in Antigua and Barbuda for several decades, is raising urgent concerns about the compounding pressures facing local livestock farmers and the animals in their care.
Dr. Robins points to unplanned housing developments as a primary driver of the crisis, arguing that rapid and poorly regulated construction has steadily eaten into agricultural land that farmers and their animals once relied upon. With less land available, livestock operations have become increasingly difficult to sustain.
Compounding the land issue, as reported by Antigua Observer, is what Dr. Robins describes as inadequate law enforcement — a failure to hold accountable those who allow animals to roam freely. Stray livestock on public roads has become a serious public safety hazard, with the potential for deadly collisions putting both drivers and animals at risk.
The veterinarian's warning paints a troubling picture of a sector that has long been a cornerstone of rural livelihoods in Antigua and Barbuda, now struggling under the weight of systemic neglect. Without urgent intervention from authorities, Dr. Robins suggests the damage may prove difficult to reverse.
