London falling
A Beaconite wonders what impact the extraordinary political psychodrama playing out in London this week will have on the Virgin Islands. Barely 18 months in power after winning a massive majority (albeit on just a third of the popular vote) Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer came very close to being toppled on Monday following a series of misjudgments and U-turns which have marked out his brief rollercoaster period in office. Not so long ago, Britain used to be considered one of the most stable and mature democracies in the world. Not anymore. Between 1979 and 2007, the country had only three prime ministers in 28 years. With Sir Keir in the departure lounge of Downing Street — and the Beaconite believes it is a matter of when, not if, he goes in the next three months — the United Kingdom will have its seventh prime minister in less than ten years since the turmoil of Brexit first raised its ugly, divisive head. This matters to the VI because in just a decade nine (yes, nine!) different foreign secretaries have had ultimate responsibility for so many things impacting the territory. Indeed, Labour is already on its second one after David Lammy, who has joint Guyanese citizenship, was turfed out of the Foreign Office last year. It’s certainly a funny way to run a G7 country.
Brush with stardom
Not too long ago, a Beaconite met a cute puppy named Miss Coco at the Humane Society of the BVI. The brown pup, which had a black muzzle and black eyebrows, was playful and excited for cuddles, the Beaconite recalls. Now, Miss Coco is a sudden celebrity. On Super Bowl Sunday over the weekend, millions of people tuned in to watch the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots play. Others just tuned in to watch Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny take to the field to perform the halftime show. But another iconic game was also broadcast on Sunday: the Puppy Bowl. The annual event, which began back in 2005, emulates a football game, with puppies divided into two teams — Team Ruff and Team Fluff — to “compete” for a trophy. All the puppies are shelter dogs available for adoption. And this year, one such pup was none other than Miss Coco. Throughout the game, the show also highlights some of the shelters the puppies came from. Among these “pup close and personal” segments was a feature on Miss Coco and the territory’s only animal shelter. While Miss Coco may have moved away from the Virgin Islands to the United States, the Beaconite thinks that she — and all the other puppies who make the move for adoption — will always remain island dogs at heart.
Don’t be chicken
The Cayman Islands recently had a close call that should serve as a warning for this territory. Late last year, avian influenza broke out among the fowls on a Cayman farm. Fortunately, authorities were able to contain the outbreak by quickly culling 69 birds that included chickens, quail and farmed ducks. But the incident highlighted concerns associated with the feral chickens that roam Cayman — a problem very familiar to this territory. Because feral chickens can’t be controlled, they present a major risk of spreading such diseases far and wide before authorities can contain them. In this case, Cayman got lucky. But to minimise future risks, it has now launched a programme to cull feral chickens as well. That is sound policy, and a Beaconite hopes the VI government is taking notes.