St. Croix Abattoir Operational, Funding Coming for Animal Shelter, Ag Head Says

Virgin Islands Agriculture Commissioner Louis Petersen Jr. sought to set the record straight at a meeting of the Senate’s Committee on Economic Development and Agriculture Wednesday about a St. Croix animal shelter and abattoir services in both districts.

Contrary to widespread rumors and some published reports, the department plans to partner with the St. Croix Animal Welfare Center as it had in previous years, Petersen said. Contracts between the department and the shelter were submitted but are awaiting approval of the 2025 budget before being finalized. Petersen said Agriculture had reached out to the shelter Aug. 6.

“We were proactive in executing a new contract. So we ask from them all their support documents to prepare the contract and put numbers in there — but not being sure if those numbers were accurate until the budget bill is passed,” he told the Senate.

Another misconception Petersen tried to clarify was the state of the territory’s slaughterhouses. The St. Croix abattoir was repaired, approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and is now operational. The boiler and other repairs were complete, he said. The only element left to do was receive and install a new hoist. Currently, the abattoir is only processing pigs, he said.