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ARCHIVED - Murcia launches pet ownership campaign as number of abandoned animals continues to rise
Murcia City Council has created an Animal Welfare Plan which includes an awareness and information campaign
For the third consecutive year, the number of abandoned cats and dogs has risen in Murcia city with a total of 771 collected from the streets in 2021, prompting the council to develop a new Animal Welfare Plan which includes a responsible pet ownership awareness campaign.
"Every year, hundreds of dogs and cats are abandoned by their owners in the municipality of Murcia, a fact that happens more intensely in the summer months when some pet owners don't want to take their pets on holiday and abandon them," said council Esther Nevado at the launch of the initiative on Thursday July 14.
"In addition to being an act of animal cruelty, pet abandonment involves a significant risk to safety by leaving animals loose on public roads and constitutes a very serious breach of the municipal ordinance, punishable by a fine of up to 3,000 euros", she added.
Awareness posters will be placed in different places such as markets, swimming pools and municipal facilities and an informative video will be uploaded on the city council's website.
From September, the responsible ownership campaign will step up a level with a free dog training programme for canine owners.
"We feel these are necessary as many people abandon animals due to behavioural problems," explained Nevado.
The training programme will be carried out in 3-hour sessions between September and December in Murcia Parque on the first Saturday of each month. It will cover dog management on public roads, socialisation problems in puppies and foster dogs, behavioural problems, and how to make good use of canine recreation areas.
Between January 1 and May 31 of this year, 304 dogs and 111 cats were admitted to Murcia City Council's Animal Protection Centre (CEPROAMUR - formerly known as the Zoonosis Centre).
In 2021 a total of 577 dogs and 194 cats were admitted, of which 266 dogs and nine cats were returned to their owners. These figures are higher than those recorded in 2020 at the same centre, when 514 dogs and 167 cats were admitted.
As part of the awareness campaign, pet owners will also be reminded of their responsibility to have their pets chipped and pet adoption will be promoted.
The city council also plans to create canine recreation areas and dog parks further away from children's areas so that dogs can be allowed to run free at specific times, either early in the morning or at night.
"This measure has already been implemented in other cities and has been very positively received," added the Nevado.
Image: PxHere
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