GAF
Animal welfare in Cuba: Compassion is not by decree
Cuba has the Decree-Law of Animal Welfare, which entered into force on July 10, but the sensitivity goes beyond any legal framework. It is acquired with the sum of values ??of human beings, with the ability that we have to put ourselves in the place of those who suffer.
I still cannot forget the image that I witnessed in one of the main streets of the capital: a lifeless cat "fed" four puppies with what little sap there could be left of her. Some driver "in a hurry"? he killed the animal and orphaned those creatures that must now walk to their own devices, it is not known where. The saddest thing that was witnessed was that almost everyone passed by without noticing the gloomy scene. Only the children turned to regret what happened. Although in Cuba the Decree-Law of Animal Welfare was approved on February 26 and it came into force on July 10, compassion is not decreed. However, such a rule could help to form a conscience that breaks the indifference and avoids looking without compassion at scenes like the one described. Almost five months after its implementation, there are those who are unaware of its existence and continue to commit abuse and the worst aberrations with stray animals, even with those that sometimes have a roof and people who protect them. The animalist Alan González Consuegra believes that to stop animal abuse we need to enrich the existing legal framework in the future, with a much more holistic vision of the issues it addresses and their solutions, and with a more biocentric spirit. He believes that the criminalization of one type of fight between animals and another is not, is incoherent and goes against the very animal welfare that we are defending. "However, the Decree-Law in its wording and content constitutes a useful tool for Cuban society to begin to defend the rights of animals and their well-being," he points out. González Consuegra suggests that animal activists who have always been in the streets developing their noble work, be systematically taken into account much more to help this decree fulfill its true purpose. The issue of sanctions is something that must be better resolved, because the amounts of the fines are not sufficiently discouraging against the commission of abuse and the conscious exercise of violence against animals, according to the animal owner. He considers that the approval of a new Penal Code will soon be discussed, a propitious occasion to propose to introduce the crime of bestiality into our legislation and also consider the life of animals as a legal asset that must be protected by criminal law. A challenge in difficult times As a challenge for the veterinary community and for all organizations, institutions and associations that are related to the protection and care, health and use of animals, this decree and its regulations are considered by Dr. María Gloria Vidal Rivalta, specialist of the National Center for Animal Health (Cenasa) and president of the National Committee for Animal Welfare in Cuba (Conbac). "Perhaps people think that the decree law will not live up to its content, but I also think that they should have confidence in the authorities of the country, in which, like the Ministry of Agriculture (Minag), conduct the Animal Welfare Policy" suggests. The truth is that in the conditions that we live now, everything cannot be resolved immediately, but the issue is of permanent interest. The Temporary Working Group for the Implementation of the Animal Welfare Policy, chaired by the First Deputy Minister of Agriculture, works hard to advance, according to her. Ensures that Cenasa, which is the state entity responsible for the coordination and execution of all actions in the field of animal welfare, permanently assists in everything that helps to make firm what is collected in the legal framework, together with all those who in the country has the responsibility to see that this policy is implemented. Clinics and medications The President of Conbac refers that in the Animal Welfare Policy one of the fundamental aspects is the rehabilitation of all the veterinary clinics and clinics that have existed in the country, but that due to the special period and all the shortages suffered they were weakened in the provision of their services. “We want there to be a provincial clinic that is as well equipped as possible in each provincial capital, and also that there are clinics or clinics in the municipalities. We advocate having a well-prepared staff with minimal resources for assistance, which includes surgery, especially in entities established in the provincial capitals, ”she points out. She details that there are three agricultural business groups in charge of this entire recovery process.
