#GuestColumn | New best friends for animals

Change requires coordinated efforts: education, technological advances, persistent activism and political will. Only in this way will it be possible to build a future where the relationship between humans and animals is based on empathy, respect and coexistence.

Recognizing them as sentient beings and bringing them to constitutional rank promotes stricter measures against abuse and fosters a culture of respect. Challenges persist, and global statistics reflect the urgency of making progress in this area.

Globally, nearly 30 million dogs and cats are euthanized annually, even for practices that include their consumption as food. Brazil and Mexico still face abandonment problems. The most conservative estimates are around 29 million on the streets, and 500,000 more arrive every year.

Legislative advances, such as the recent approval of the constitutional reform that prohibits animal abuse and obliges the State to guarantee their well-being, demand citizen co-responsibility in terms of care in possession until the report of abuse.

On social networks there is a growing trend towards viral reporting of abuse, which can take advantage of reporting channels to trigger institutional actions for the benefit of sentient beings.

Since 2023, the Command, Control, Computing, Communications and Citizen Contact Center (C5) has received more than 34,000 reports related to animals through the 911 emergency line, mainly for three reasons: abuse and abandonment, rescue request regarding to wild species whose possession is prohibited and theft.