Mary
Editorial/MayaWest
June 28, 2011
Is Puerto Rico Going to the Dogs?
I am driving down roads lined with mango trees, bright sunshine, and tropical breezes and it seems like paradise. But wait, what is that on the side of the road? A strong stench whiffs through my car window making my stomach roll violently. I try to cover my eyes, but the image is there. It’s the bloated carcass of a dead dog. One of the many stray canines in Puerto Rico has been killed by a speeding car. Is Puerto Rico going to the dogs? The amount of stray, uncared for canines roaming the pueblos of Puerto Rico suggest, “Yes.”
In 2007 the Save a Sato Foundation- “sato” means mutt- sent 1,500 to 2,000 dogs from Puerto Rico to the animal shelters in the United States where they could be adopted. Why do dogs from Puerto Rico have to fly to the U.S. to be rescued? The answer is that there are no island wide government funded programs to gather up the animals and spay or neuter them, so the dogs and cats just keep breeding. Yabucoa, located on the coast of south eastern Puerto Rico, has been nicknamed Dead Dog Beach because there are so many stray dogs found dead from starvation and neglect.
Three years ago a government contracted company, Animal Control Solutions, seized some 80 dogs and cats from the Barceloneta housing projects and killed them by throwing them off a 50 foot bridge. Some of the animals did survive. Is this a humane solution to animal overpopulation? In response to international outrage after the New York Times carried the story of animal abuse in Puerto Rico, new legislation was enacted. In August of 2008, Law 154 was passed. This law is for the protection and welfare of animals and depending on the crime the penalties carry incarceration up to 15 years and/or fines of up to $25,000 dollars. Puerto Rico does currently have legislation to protect animals, but why do we still see so many neglected, stray dogs and cats? There are at least 100,000 of these poor animals in Puerto Rico. How does the physical reality of suffering animals roaming the streets of la Isla de Encanta affect Puerto Rico? Well, if the government of Puerto Rico doesn’t care about the malnourished animals, they may care about the tourist dollar.
A study conducted by the Puerto Rico Hotel and Tourism Association in 2002 estimated that the stray animal problem was costing the island businesses about $5 million dollars a year in tourism. Tourists don’t like to see sick, diseased, malnourished dogs and cats. It makes them feel bad and wonder about the character of Puerto Rican citizens. Fortunately there are people in Puerto Rico who care about animals. There are at least 50 volunteer organizations that tend to the adoption of animals and the spaying and neutering of strays. In Rincon, Puerto Rico, volunteers from the Animal Rescue Foundation of Rincon (ARF) are trying to educate the students in the local schools by teaching them about animal welfare, ownership responsibility and animal cruelty. When I asked Sheree Salas de Quiles, the ARF administrator, about animal control, she firmly supported the spaying and neutering of cats and dogs. In 2009, ARF spayed/neutered over 317 dogs and cats. Many of the volunteer animal welfare organizations offer adoption and spay/neuter vouchers; however, these organizations do not provide animal shelters. There are only four animal shelters on the entire island. The one animal shelter for all of the western part of the island is in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. Although the volunteer organizations are doing a great job, the task of taking care of the animals in Puerto Rico is huge. These organizations need some help, basically government aid.
Currently each municipality in Puerto Rico is required to have two animal control officers and the equipment necessary for these officers to implement animal control. The municipalities define this public duty loosely and some towns may have the officers, yet not the equipment. Other towns may have the animal control officers also responsible for administrative work that does not pertain to animal control. The way a municipality acts upon animal control varies from town to town. So how do we guarantee that each town has enacted the animal control requirements? The Puerto Rican central government should assign each town funds especially allotted for animal control and build more animal shelters to be used by neighboring towns. The municipalities need to be accountable to the central Puerto Rican government for the administration of animal control funds. It is imperative that towns with larger populations be provided with more animal control officers and equipment. These officers would also be responsible for education programs regarding animal welfare. It is essential that a government sponsored spay/neuter program be implemented as this would drastically reduce the amount of strays seen on this island. A single dog can produce two litters a year and a cat can produce three litters. If the Puerto Rican government would implement these suggested measures, then the stray animal dilemma would improve. It is time to stop the chain of animal negligence.
Puerto Rico has beautiful beaches and warm people. Don’t let the image of injured dogs and cats littering the beaches be what a family remembers. As Mahatma Gandhi stated, “A measure of a society can be how well its people treat its animals.”
If that is the standard by which to judge a civilization, then yes, Puerto Rico is going to the dogs. So save civilization, help save the animals of Puerto Rico.
Editorial/MayaWest
June 28, 2011
Is Puerto Rico Going to the Dogs?
I am driving down roads lined with mango trees, bright sunshine, and tropical breezes and it seems like paradise. But wait, what is that on the side of the road? A strong stench whiffs through my car window making my stomach roll violently. I try to cover my eyes, but the image is there. It’s the bloated carcass of a dead dog. One of the many stray canines in Puerto Rico has been killed by a speeding car. Is Puerto Rico going to the dogs? The amount of stray, uncared for canines roaming the pueblos of Puerto Rico suggest, “Yes.”
In 2007 the Save a Sato Foundation- “sato” means mutt- sent 1,500 to 2,000 dogs from Puerto Rico to the animal shelters in the United States where they could be adopted. Why do dogs from Puerto Rico have to fly to the U.S. to be rescued? The answer is that there are no island wide government funded programs to gather up the animals and spay or neuter them, so the dogs and cats just keep breeding. Yabucoa, located on the coast of south eastern Puerto Rico, has been nicknamed Dead Dog Beach because there are so many stray dogs found dead from starvation and neglect.
Three years ago a government contracted company, Animal Control Solutions, seized some 80 dogs and cats from the Barceloneta housing projects and killed them by throwing them off a 50 foot bridge. Some of the animals did survive. Is this a humane solution to animal overpopulation? In response to international outrage after the New York Times carried the story of animal abuse in Puerto Rico, new legislation was enacted. In August of 2008, Law 154 was passed. This law is for the protection and welfare of animals and depending on the crime the penalties carry incarceration up to 15 years and/or fines of up to $25,000 dollars. Puerto Rico does currently have legislation to protect animals, but why do we still see so many neglected, stray dogs and cats? There are at least 100,000 of these poor animals in Puerto Rico. How does the physical reality of suffering animals roaming the streets of la Isla de Encanta affect Puerto Rico? Well, if the government of Puerto Rico doesn’t care about the malnourished animals, they may care about the tourist dollar.
A study conducted by the Puerto Rico Hotel and Tourism Association in 2002 estimated that the stray animal problem was costing the island businesses about $5 million dollars a year in tourism. Tourists don’t like to see sick, diseased, malnourished dogs and cats. It makes them feel bad and wonder about the character of Puerto Rican citizens. Fortunately there are people in Puerto Rico who care about animals. There are at least 50 volunteer organizations that tend to the adoption of animals and the spaying and neutering of strays. In Rincon, Puerto Rico, volunteers from the Animal Rescue Foundation of Rincon (ARF) are trying to educate the students in the local schools by teaching them about animal welfare, ownership responsibility and animal cruelty. When I asked Sheree Salas de Quiles, the ARF administrator, about animal control, she firmly supported the spaying and neutering of cats and dogs. In 2009, ARF spayed/neutered over 317 dogs and cats. Many of the volunteer animal welfare organizations offer adoption and spay/neuter vouchers; however, these organizations do not provide animal shelters. There are only four animal shelters on the entire island. The one animal shelter for all of the western part of the island is in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. Although the volunteer organizations are doing a great job, the task of taking care of the animals in Puerto Rico is huge. These organizations need some help, basically government aid.
Currently each municipality in Puerto Rico is required to have two animal control officers and the equipment necessary for these officers to implement animal control. The municipalities define this public duty loosely and some towns may have the officers, yet not the equipment. Other towns may have the animal control officers also responsible for administrative work that does not pertain to animal control. The way a municipality acts upon animal control varies from town to town. So how do we guarantee that each town has enacted the animal control requirements? The Puerto Rican central government should assign each town funds especially allotted for animal control and build more animal shelters to be used by neighboring towns. The municipalities need to be accountable to the central Puerto Rican government for the administration of animal control funds. It is imperative that towns with larger populations be provided with more animal control officers and equipment. These officers would also be responsible for education programs regarding animal welfare. It is essential that a government sponsored spay/neuter program be implemented as this would drastically reduce the amount of strays seen on this island. A single dog can produce two litters a year and a cat can produce three litters. If the Puerto Rican government would implement these suggested measures, then the stray animal dilemma would improve. It is time to stop the chain of animal negligence.
Puerto Rico has beautiful beaches and warm people. Don’t let the image of injured dogs and cats littering the beaches be what a family remembers. As Mahatma Gandhi stated, “A measure of a society can be how well its people treat its animals.”
If that is the standard by which to judge a civilization, then yes, Puerto Rico is going to the dogs. So save civilization, help save the animals of Puerto Rico.