Complaints of animal abuse received by the municipal shelter have increased

The municipal shelter celebrated five years of operation this April 13, and its current director, Zorka Alderete, stands out as one of the achievements of her management the nine adoption fairs that have been held in the last two years, and at the same time regretted that the complaints they receive daily of animal abuse have increased.

According to Alderete, so far this year they have received 467 complaints, which have been verified after visiting the place where the animal was, generally in poor condition.

Between 2021 and 2022, 2,030 cases of animal abuse were attended, which were investigated by the team of this shelter, made up of six people, who are in charge of processing the cases based on the calls that are answered. When a person makes a complaint, they must provide the following information: location, contact number and, if possible, a photo of the animal.

“We do everything possible to attend to all the complaints that come to us. It draws attention that there is more animal abuse, pBut now people are realizing that there are punishments. For example, the final sentence for the death of Toffi, the dog that was stoned to death, is a good precedent. You have to thank the authorities that are giving value to the lives of animals and justice is done for the little angels who have died,” said Alderete.

As for the nine adoption fairs, he said they have been hundreds of dogs and cats who found a second chance with their new families.

Regarding the canine and feline sterilization campaigns, he reported that they are contemplated in the annual budget of the Zoonosis department. In the last three years, 5,357 animals have been sterilized in different neighborhoods of the Santa Cruz capital. So far in 2023, 785 pets have already been sterilized. “We are fighting against the overpopulation of dogs and cats, of which a large percentage live on the streets,” he said.

Currently, 45 dogs and 55 cats live in the municipal shelter, which are attended by a medical team of 10 people. They were the protagonists of the celebration of this day, where there were games and they ate cake, cookies and special cakes for them.