|
 SPAIN has the worst record in Europe for pets being abandoned, with one animal dumped every three minutes.
Author and journalist Rosa Montero has brought this to the public's attention and started a petition on campaign site Avaaz calling for tougher legislation on cruelty and neglect of animals, given that at present, pet protection laws are within the jurisdiction of regional governments, meaning there are 17 different ones in place and not all of them are suitably effective.
Parliament has approved a motion to call for the central government to crack down on animal mistreatment, but Sra Montero says it is unlikely to come into effect very quickly.
She says she and Avaaz will send the petition to the ministry of agriculture once it has reached 200,000 signatures, and hopes that the public voice will compel the government into urgent action 'in time to save the lives of thousands of pets'.
As well as stiffer criminal sentences for ill-treatment and neglect of animals, the new law is expected to cover population control – such as sterilising and neutering feral cats – and place a ban on any dog pounds or rescue centres putting animals down unless they are actually suffering incurably and it would be cruel to keep them alive.
Sra Montero – author of bestselling novels such as History of a transparent king, Trembling, Beautiful and dark, Beloved master, The Tartar's heart andLovers and enemies, as well as being a regular columnist in national daily broadsheets – says July and August are the 'worst' months for pets being abandoned since this is the height of the breeding season and also a time when owners go on holiday, with some having few scruples about leaving their cats and dogs to fend for themselves and starve.
Despite popular misconception, Spaniards in general are an animal-loving race and this is evidenced by the fact that every town and village is required to have a council-funded rescue centre for dogs and cats, run by volunteers, and very few of these will put a healthy animal to sleep or even a sick one if there is any chance of a cure, however expensive.
Vets in Spain are generally much cheaper than in the UK, since their overall conviction is that if they charge too much, owners will not seek treatment for their animals when they need it.
Most younger adults are against bull-fighting or any bull-related events at festivals where the animals may get hurt, and some say even their middle-aged or elderly parents are now starting to see that it is cruel and ceasing to support it.
Bull-fighting is banned altogether in the regions of Catalunya and the Canary Islands.
And many Spanish people regularly feed colonies of feral cats living in their area.
But at present, having pets neutered or spayed is not de rigueur as it is in northern European countries.
Spaying and neutering: Key in the battle against pet neglect
As a general rule, Spanish pet-owners believe northern Europe's automatic sterilisation of dogs and cats as soon as they are old enough is a 'cultural' issue, because these nations 'consider it unsightly' when an animal's genitals are visible, as shown by reports in various media.
And myths abound relating to neutering of dogs and cats, with many deciding not to do so based upon beliefs that they will 'become fat and lazy' or will be 'more prone to infections', neither of which are the case.
Many Spanish vets and animal rescue centres have launched campaigns to convince pet owners to have their dogs and cats spayed or neutered, stressing that the operation is routine and low-risk, does not affect the animal's personality or body weight, and that they are less – not more – likely to suffer infections if they are sterilised.
Failing to have animals sterilised is part of the problem which leads to pets being dumped – people who do not have the time, space or means to feed and care for large litters constantly being produced are more likely to be tempted to abandon them somewhere, or continually palm them off onto already-overstretched animal protection centres.
Please sign the petition and help bring change forward faster:
https://secure.avaaz.org/es/sos_mascotas_rosa_montero_7/
|