I was moved by a letter about the horrible conditions for pets in Puerto Rico. While I commend her for adopting two satos, I do know that trying to jump into the animal welfare issue in another country is a daunting task that often backfires. I contacted the HSUS to get an informed, rational reply about what we can do to help overhaul this cruel ‘system.’ Sylvia’s well-articulated letter is followed by an equally valuable one from Jessica Higgins of the Humane Society International. —Tracie
I receive your dog talk podcasts. I imagine you have probably heard about of the massacre of 80 dogs and cats that took place in Puerto Rico last October. This type of cruelty, while extreme in the numbers of animals involved, is unfortunately not unusual on this tropical island, where unwanted animals are dumped, poisoned, shot, beaten, and left to die on a daily basis. Back roads, gorges and garbage dumps are littered with the decaying carcasses of dogs and cats. Puerto Rico–”The Island of Enchantment”–is by far the worst place for animal abuse and overpopulation in the United States. As a country, we simply can’t continue to condone this kind of suffering.
Puerto Rico has a long history of animal abuse and neglect. The few public animal shelters in existence report euthanasia rates well above 90 percent. There are no pet registration laws in Puerto Rico, little spaying or neutering, and little enforcement of the animal cruelty or anti-abandonment laws. When someone wants to discard a pet, they typically dump it on the side of the road where it is killed by traffic or drop it off on a beach where it will die from abuse or starvation. There is even a strip of coastline in Yabucoa called “Dead Dog Beach” because of the number of dogs left there to die of disease, starvation, or gunshots. An article on an amazing rescuer who spent two years on Dead Dog Beach has come out in “People” magazine this month.
There is some salvation for these animals. The island has a few non-profit organizations dedicated to ending the suffering of stray dogs (called “satos” by the locals). None of these groups receive any financial assistance from the government. They rescue stray cats and dogs off the streets, nurse them to health, and help rehome them. These groups partner with a network of no-kill animal shelters, primarily on the East Coast, who are in need of dogs to adopt. As small (under 30 pounds) dogs, Satos are highly desirable, because very few shelters have enough small mixed breed dogs to meet the high demand. These rescue groups also help arrange for low-cost spaying and neutering for as many local dogs as possible.
We had hoped that the October massacre would prompt the government officials of Puerto Rico to finally take action and enforce strict laws against animal cruelty, as well as implement humane animal programs, and widespread spay and neutering. So far, we’ve heard some talk, but very little action has taken place. And that is surprising, in a way, because the island can’t really afford not to take action. We know that millions of dollars in tourism revenues were lost after word spread about the pet massacre and ongoing abuse. After all, who wants to spend vacation on a beach surrounded by starving and injured dogs?
Tracie, my hope is that with your radio program you will help raise awareness about what is happening to the little citizens of this island, which is a part of the United States. The more people who know about this, the more pressure will be put on the government to make some serious changes–as opposed to empty promises. I myself have two Satos that I got directly from Puerto Rico and I could not ask for better “daughters” than these two. They truly are wonderful companions. I look at them every day and grieve for the many thousands of Satos that haven’t been lucky enough to be rescued and are still suffering on the island.
I have listed some websites that you can access for additional information and have included a recent article written by the New York Times regarding the situation on the island.
http://tinyurl.com/5trlz4 (shortened NY TIMES link)
http://www.islanddog.org/home.html
http://www.farodelosanimales.org/English/index.html
http://classandcircumstance.blogspot.com/
http://www.redprotectoresdeanimales.org/
http://www.boxer.dreamhost.com/
This is the reply I got from Jessica Higgins – Humane Society International Program Manager, Latin America and Caribbean.
The issue of strays in PR has received a lot of press lately, largely as a result of the Barceloneta incident. The problem is that there are very few spay/neuter programs in place, and in the few that do exist, the government largely does not participate. There are exceptions, but for the most part, the municipalities are not addressing the population problem. There is also very little enforcement of existing cruelty laws (the law on the books right now is comparable to the laws in many states – but it isn’t enforced), and there are no licensing and registration procedures in place. There is a new government body that is charged with animal control called the Oficina Executive de Control Animal (OECA – Executive Office of Animal Control). They have a very small budget, but are charged with using that budget to help the municipalities develop animal control program. As far as I know, that money has not been allocated yet, but OECA is developing guidelines for the distribution of funds. It’s a challenge because no one is really trained in the subject, since PR does not have a history of humane animal control. So they’re trying to start a program with very little background in the issue.
What we’re doing: We’re supporting several spay/neuter initiatives on the island. We anticipate launching programs this year in Vieques and Isabela. We are also bringing several leaders in this emerging field to our annual Animal Care Expo for training. They’ll participate in the international track of Expo. Although PR is not technically international, they do deal with many of the same issues that groups in the developing world handle. We’re also providing a one-week internship for the director of OECA at an animal protection organization in Florida. This should be a great experience for her and will give her a better perspective on developing the programs in PR. This fall we’re hoping to offer a training workshop for the shelters that will focus on increasing adoptions, and improving animal care in the shelters. Right now most of the shelters (there are 6) have a euthanasia rate above 90%. So we’re hoping that the combination of spay/neuter and enhanced adoption programs will bring this number down.
I should mention that there is controversy over the concept of “off-island adoptions,†where strays are picked up from the beaches and relocated to homes in the US. For a thorough background on the issue, I’ve attached an article that gives the pros and cons. Dead Dog Beach is a perfect example of the downfall of such a system. We’re heard from some local groups that abandonment has increased dramatically on Dead Dog Beach, because people believe that if they leave their dog there, it will get a home in the US. So rather than take the dog to a shelter, where it will almost certainly be euthanized, they leave the dog to its fate on the beach. So the transfer of animals does help the individual being transported, but does not solve the problems of overpopulation or abandonment, and might in fact exacerbate them.
In terms of what others can do: It’s good to keep pressure on the tourism industry and government to continue developing humane programs. For example, if a visitor to Puerto Rico (or any other tourist destination, for that matter) is disturbed by the sight of homeless dogs, it can be powerful to let the tourism agencies know that. But, it’s important to state that the solution is spay/neuter, legislation and education – NOT mass eradication. Let the tourism board that you want to stay in resorts that do not participate in poisoning campaigns. The tourism agencies got many such letters after Barceloneta, but now that things have calmed down, we want them to know that visitors to their island still care about humane treatment of animals, even if it’s no longer in the news. The other thing is to support local groups that are focusing on spay/neuter. The Humane Society of Puerto Rico has an effective low-cost vet clinic in the shelter. The group that we’re working with in Isabela, PAWS, also does a great job of spay/neuter outreach. In general, I would recommend that people support groups that are focusing on low-cost spay/neuter, and not on rescue and U.S. relocation of strays. I have the utmost respect and compassion for the people doing that work, but in terms of bang for the buck, spay/neuter will have a greater impact over the long haul.
So that’s what I know. I’m happy to answer any other questions you have as best I can. Hopefully this will at least be a start.
Take care,
Jessica Higgins
Program Manager, Latin America and Caribbean
Humane Society International
2100 L St, NW
Washington, DC 20037 USA
http://www.his.org
This is the cruelist and most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen since the
holocaust (6 million people murdered) and other human killings. What
is wrong with the these people who do this to helpless animals! Do we know
how they treat their children? I’m 75 years old and this is the worst thing
I’ve seen so far outside of the killings that go on in war. I feel totally
helpless, as I live on Social Security and don’t have monies to give, but feel
the only thing I have is to scream out the news to anyone who will listen!
Here I sit, needing and wanting another dog so badly (mine died) and yet
the public housing rules won’t let me have one because I have a 17 year
old cat whom I refuse to abandon (“you can have a dog if you get rid of
your cat”). There are fascist and mean people in this world and the only
way I can combat this is to refuse to be that way myself. When is PR
going to wake up to this terrible way of doing and thinking . Why is PR not
following our laws about this cruelty and if not, why is our govenment
not saying: Look, if you do not change your ways, PR, you are OUT OF OUR
LOOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And why are some people here not cleaning up
their act, also. We need to keep the press going, too. i AM FURIOUS!!!!!!!!
The attractive advertisements put on by the board of tourism for Puerto Rico are very misleading to potential travelers. They only show the pretty beaches and beautiful sunsets. Funny that they never show the beaches littered with dog, cat, horse, and farm animal carcasses. Nor do they mention that just about everyone has a machete and killing these animals has become a sport. I did not know about the hurling animals over the bridge into oncoming traffic. Should I really be suprised with this though with their track record? How we treat our animals is how we treat people. Simple. Why should we support Puerto Rico when they treat their animals so poorly.
Susan and Kristin
You are both so right to be indignant and don’t ever lose that sense of moral outrage, it’s what will wakeup others and force those with no moral center to start looking for one. We “vote” with our pocketbooks so it does boil down to staying away from Puerto Rico – will it help to write a letter to the tourist agency down there or whatever group the HSUS has identified and write a morally outraged letter.
I’ll be talking about this on the air on CAT CHAT with an HSUS Latin American representative so please tune in the channel on June 11th
as disturbing as this is, the fact remains that in this country well over a million healthy and adoptable pets get killed in our shelter system each year. Some shelters ‘kill humanely’ (what a oxymoron!!!) by injection, others use lethal amounts of carbon monoxide gas which takes 2-6 minutes (or more) to take its effect … let’s not forget how inhumane and unnecessary ALL these deaths are!!
Tracie: How can you help us continue to spread to word about animal welfare issues in the island? please contact me via email. What has happened SINCE the island was brought to shame because our dirty laundry was FINALLY exposed ((for decades animal welfare groups have been crying out to the international community to see what hell we have to deal with on a daily basis “thanks” to Barceloneta Pet Massacre and Dead Dog Beach-by the way DDB is just ONE place but the name SHOULD apply to many locations throughout the entire island- becoming KNOW to the world)) INSTEAD of humanely and productively addressing the issues the government and the “powers that be” have taken a ” hide under the rug” or “out of sight / out of mind” approach. Instead of helping non for profit groups that have singlehanded dealt with everyone’s dirty laundry with NO financial assistance what so ever (non from the governments, non from the pharmaceuticals that make a lot of $ from being located int he island, non from private resorts -the last two are the major sources of income to the island-,none from the private citizens who are irresponsible pet owners or from the average bleeding heart arm chair activist that sign petitions but wont give a donation to individual rescuers or groups paying REGULAR rates or $50 dollar neuters our of the OWN pockets…. what is are the island “power players” doing? 1. under the table SWEEPS….yes its better to get those dogs and cats “out of sight” and APPEAR to have the situation under control to the rest of the world.
2. The latest….Save a Gato is the ONLY group that has been using TNR (the rest of us can’t get our act together (FINANCIALLY) to do TNR) and the State Dept of Health not only blame US animal welfare activist for being the reason why there are homeless cats!! but also want to destroy the fruits of our labor! (see the Old San Juan item below). We the animal welfare groups NEED our voices to be heard OUTSIDE the island…because WITHIN…we get ignored and ALSO brushed under the rug….ANY HELP will GREATLY BE APPRECIATED!
For those of you unaware of the horrendous threat to all OLD SAN JUAN Cats: Since 2004 volunteers of the non profit Save a GATO (Save a Stay Cat) have been implementing Trap Neuter Return to manage the Old San Juan princess promenade (and City Wall) feral cat colony. Numbers have gone down from approx 250 cats to 103 cats! The Department of Health of the Island of Puerto Rico have decided on a whim that this managed colony and all cats living in this old word city should die…sign the petition! http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/292003222 and ALSO sign the one at Save a GATO official website http://www.saveagato.org To read more, please visit http://www.animalprotectorsnetwork.org
I fosterd and recerntly adopted a DEAD DOG BCH puppy, He is the joy of my life. He`s a dimodex puppy, from the awful conditions over there.
his sister was also forestered and now has a new home. My dog is now in training, he very smart and loving, what can we do the help,other anamials like my dog KEYO need a new chance and love.
There are many non-profit organizations in Puerto Rico that do whatever is in their reach to help animals. There is animal abuse everywhere even in the U.S. There are many animal lovers in P.R including me. The event that took place in Barceloneta was very shameful but it is also being taken care of. The three men involved may face up to nine years in jail and the mayor of the city is being sued for millions of dollars by the owners of the dogs. In other countries there would not have been any justice for these animals but P.R citizens are trying to do there part to stop animal abuse. But its very hard without any money.
It is great that this issue continues to inspire your passions – in my experience, the best use for that angry frustrated energy is to join forces with the Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) in Washington D.C. because they can take our voices and dollars and put them to constructive use in improving laws, conditions, education and funding where needed. Each of us can do her part as we see fit, but there is the bigger picture of bringing about real change through political influence, public education and social pressure. Let’s please not waste our energies and opportunities to make a difference by misdirecting our anger – keep your focus on the ultimate goal, which is to effect a positive and permanent change for the better through legitimate and effective channels like HSUS.
Tracie! Thank you for including my letter about Dead Dog Island. I still
feel the shock but now understand better why it is happening and let it
be very clear that I follow the Animal Planet Channel on our TV and see that
lots is being done in several large US cities about animal ignorance and
animal cruelty. But I still maintain that Puerto Rico has a very long way to
go. I do not have money to give and cannot adopt one of their dogs, but
I can try to keep the pressure up by the press. I try to give support to those
people who ARE doing what they can and I know that every bit of thinking,
reasoning and help is going to eventually help this situation. First comes
awareness and then solutions and money will follow.I am grateful for your
love of animals and what you are doing. My computer is old and I cannot
down load some of the latest news, but I get enough of the ideas that
can make a difference. Thank you again. Susan Giese
Hi Susan – I want to say GOOD FOR YOU – money isn’t everything, far from it. Your passion and concern and solution-oriented thinking are as valuable as a bar of gold, because without that level of caring for people like you, there would be no wind under the sails of groups like HSUS and local rescue groups anywhere. Keep talking, keep trying – every little bit makes a difference.
This is a horrific story. Why would anyone treat an animal this way? I know now that my family will never travel to Peurto Rico based on this evidence of animal cruelty. We will definately not support its tourism. And of course, we will spread the word!
u r an inspiration what can i do to get invovled in this i really want to help
You’re so sweet! Listen to the pod cast about this on DOG TALK in the library on my website – then you can contact Humane Society of the United States (www.HSUS.org) which is involved and also the links above that Wanda shared. They will be thrilled to have more help I’m sure.