Mérida City Council is committed to the protection of fauna

Mérida, Yucatán, (October 06, 2021) .- The Mérida City Council presented the programs aimed at the protection and well-being of fauna, in addition to actions aimed at eradicating mistreatment and cruelty towards street animals and pets, as well as avoiding the spread of zoonotic diseases to the inhabitants of the Municipality.

At a press conference held in the University Council Hall of the Autonomous University of Yucatán (UADY), the director of the Sustainable Development Unit, Alejandra Bolio Rojas, assured that the coordinated effort with civil associations, a college of specialists, educational institutions continues and authorities to follow up on actions and programs in favor of the protection of fauna and animal welfare that seek to generate favorable public health conditions.

The municipal official was accompanied by Dr. Antonio Ortega Pacheco, professor at the Faculty of Zootechnical Veterinary Medicine of the UADY; and the MVZ. Jorge Lara Montero, president of the College of Small Species Veterinarians of the State of Yucatán.

Bolio Rojas reported that since the last municipal administration the actions and public policies in favor of the protection of fauna and animal welfare have been maintained.

The director of the Sustainable Development Unit gave a brief account of how the corresponding Advisory Council worked on the discussion and analysis of the Regulation for the Protection of Fauna, since August 2020, when work tables were held, to be subsequently approved on August 25 by the Government Commission, and recently by the Cabildo, unanimously.

Among the most important points of the expansion of the regulation, he highlighted the promotion of ethical, ecological and cultural importance on the protection and humanitarian treatment; the promotion of participatory social awareness about the care, for the preservation and well-being of the fauna; the inclusion of security and protection mechanisms, vigilance and sanction against acts of animal abuse and cruelty; and, the establishment of bases and mechanisms of linkage and cooperation between agencies, government orders and civil society.

In the question session, it was requested to specify the issue of feeding animals in the street, to which Bolio Rojas clarified that it is not a question of prohibiting directly feeding an animal, but rather of avoiding that the food remains in the street. Public roads without attention, since being exposed runs the risk of other animals, such as rodents, contaminating the food, transmitting diseases such as leptospirosis.

Finally, Dr. Ortega reported that about 150 zoonotic diseases such as intestinal parasites can be found in Merida, which occur mainly in dogs, which is a serious problem that does not have due importance, especially if we want to preserve a healthy environment in the Municipality.