“They made a mess of everything”
General manager of one of Bahamas’ oldest charities “disheartened” by the incident
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Bahamas Humane Society (BHS) sustained thousands of dollars’ worth of damages to its property during the late hours of Sunday night after a break-in was purported to have occurred at its Dunmore Avenue location.
In addition to extensive property damage, the animal shelter’s security system and at least $500 in cash were stolen, according to the BHS official Instagram page.
No staff members or animals at the shelter were hurt as a result of the late weekend robbery.
According to BHS General Manager Percy Grant, security team members for the animal shelter called him at around 10.30pm to report that the place had been broken into and ransacked.
“About 10.30 last night, we had a call from my night inspectors, saying that when they returned off of call, they discovered that the place had been broken into — offices kicked in, doors kicked open,” he told Eyewitness News.
“The accounts office, which was the first office that they would have gained entry through, they ransacked.
“They did find some money, $500 of float, which they carried.
“They kicked down other doors — my office, they didn’t take anything out of there; the adoptions office, they ransacked.
“They made a mess of everything.”
The estimated costs for the damages sustained run upwards of $20,000.
“Because the doors that had been kicked in were expensive, we had estimates this morning running into $3,500 in trying to replace those doors and lockings,” Grant said.
“The camera systems, valued at around $15,000, we’ve got to try to replace that.
“It’s going to be a setback, a financial setback.”
Speculating the reason for the break-in, the BHS general manager suggested that the thieves were motivated by money.
He said: “It looks as if [it] was something to do with money. They wanted cash; I don’t think they found much. They tried their best to dig up the place.”
Grant called the ordeal disheartening, considering the ways in which the shelter, also positioned as the oldest charity in The Bahamas, has served the public during the country’s darkest moments.
“It’s very disheartening for us as a charity, and particularly [because of] the stuff that we have been doing so far for the public — feeding animals that have been displaced from Dorian and from the pandemic,” he said.
“Every Tuesday and Wednesday, people come up to the Humane Society for dog and cat food for assistance.
“So, we now have to replace a lot of stuff, which is going to be costly, and try to get back on our feet before the holidays.”
Notwithstanding the financial strain of the burglary, Grant said the non-profit does not foresee services being suspended.
The number of thieves that broke into BHS has not been confirmed, and no suspects have been linked to the crime up to press time.
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