By Ed Forbes
Turks and Caicos, April 10, 2025 – I felt compel to put pen to paper on this matter once again. You don’t expect to slam your brakes in paradise. But in Grand Turk, it’s becoming routine.
Donkeys roaming on the side of the roads, darting into traffic or packs of feral dogs guarding the neighborhoods. Tourists freeze as animals charge across roads. This isn’t just island charm anymore—it’s an unfolding dilemma.
I’ve had near-misses myself. And I’m not alone. Locals and visitors, are often caught in dangerous encounters with animals that, while symbolic of Grand Turk’s identity, now pose very real threats.
The truth is, Grand Turk is known for romanticizing the wild. Whale watching, stingray encounters, feral dogs. Donkeys in particular, once essential to Grand Turk’s salt trade in the 1800s, are no longer beasts of burden—but neither are they properly managed.
Estimates put the donkey population around 300 on a 10.5-square-mile island. Factor in feral dogs—many “quasi-owned,” but rarely trained or contained—and what you have is the beginning of chaos in paradise.
Tourists may marvel at the novelty of roadside donkeys or trail along a dog to the beach. But they don’t witness the aftermath: the accidents, the injuries, the destruction of garbage etc. Nor do they grasp that the open pastures once used for grazing are now vanishing under side roads, and new development.
So, whose space is it now? Are the animals invading ours—or are we quietly bulldozing theirs leaving less and less vegetation to feed on?
This isn’t just a debate about wildlife. It’s about responsibility. Grand Turk’s Department of Agriculture is in a predicament. The Turks & Caicos Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (TSPA) does what it can, but without funding or full government backing, their hands are tied. Volunteers try. Visitors from the UK recently met with residents to discuss potential solutions—but meetings alone don’t save lives.
A suggestion from an avid volunteer with Hooves & Paws TCI: Create satellite watering holes placed far from high-traffic areas and proper upkeep of the existing ones. Another idea: A full time veterinary with support vehicles to assist with humane capture and care. But without an advocacy in high positions, these ideas remain just that—ideas.
If Grand Turk wants to preserve its “Beautiful by Nature” identity, it needs more than slogans. It needs policy. It needs action. It needs a willingness to confront the uncomfortable truth: some of these animals are suffering.
No one wants to strip the island of its character. Donkeys, dogs, and even the occasional rooster are part of what makes Grand Turk unforgettable. But when charm turns into hazard—when beauty collides with danger—it’s time to stop romanticizing and start organizing in order to see it from a different perspective.
There is no perfect solution. But continuing to do nothing only guarantees more accidents, more heartbreak, and more erosion of the very essence we claim to protect.
The wild can still be free, yet harmony between humans and animals is possible. However, this delicate balance demands more than passive acknowledgement.
I believe both animals and humans can coexist, but time is running out.
This administration in partnership with dedicated local volunteers, must rise to the challenge, forging innovative and imaginary strategies to steward and safeguard this environment before neglect turns into irreversible loss.
Photo by Grace Bay Cottages
