This Saturday the 18th, the National Institute for Animal Welfare (INBA) carried out a day of free castration and chipping of dogs and cats in the department of Florida.
The activity was attended by Guillermo López, Mayor of Florida, Enzo Viscailuz, IDF Director of Sustainable Development, and Marcela Delgado, Executive Director of INBA. The activity took place in the Plaza de Deportes.
As reported by the mayor, the goal is to reach 3,000 animals identified through chips, neutered and associated with a responsible keeper by mid-year. So far, he counted, there are 2,300.
He also announced that next month, they will inaugurate a temporary canine shelter on the outskirts of Florida where all the animals living on the street will be received, they will receive health care, they will be neutered and they will proceed to responsible adoption.
According to López, the issue of animal welfare was one of the commitments he made in the campaign, for this reason, they will continue to carry out castration days every week to control canine overpopulation and animal abandonment.
For her part, Marcela Delgado, director of the INBA, said that the objective of the Institute is to reach more and more force both in Florida and in the rest of the country’s departments with castrations and chipping.
“In Florida we feel at home because it was our first pilot plan and from there the methodology of the National Reproductive Control Program arose,” said Delgado.
And he added that they are very satisfied with the growth they have seen in the National Registry of Companion Animals, which according to Delagdo, “demonstrates the great commitment that there is on the part of the citizenry, which makes us see that we are doing well.” path”.
So far, the INBA already has more than 100,000 animals chipped and registered in the National Registry of Companion Animals (RENAC).
One of the objectives of this activity is to avoid the massive reproduction of dogs and cats to prevent possible abandonment and cases of abuse. In addition, with the chipping, it is sought to associate each pet with a responsible keeper.
The activity is part of the National Program for Reproductive Control of the canine and feline population, which was created through presidential decree 57/023 of February 17 that regulates one of the articles included in the LUC, where it is declared of interest. general creation of this program.
The decree establishes the obligatory nature of the sterilization of dogs and cats and also the identification by means of a microchip. Both from the Ministry of Livestock and from the INBA and the Presidency of the Republic, there is a strong commitment to minimize coexistence problems and other negative consequences that exist today due to this problem. The regulation puts Uruguay on the path of countries that promote the highest standards of animal welfare and will allow the INBA to link the animals with a responsible holder and strongly address the problems associated with the population of dogs and cats that do not have containment or are under responsible care.
Since 2021, the INBA has been allocating funds to carry out free castrations for low-income owners or families, in agreement with the Municipalities. In that framework, this weekend they will be in Florida.
Report Noelia Franco
