"Most municipalities do not have shelters for stray animals"

"Most municipalities do not have shelters for stray animals"
From: Puerto Rico DAILY SUN

Most municipalities do not have shelters for stray animals. Even more disturbing, only 18 out of 48 towns controlled by the New Progressive Party have any kind of animal control program.
The problem, according to Carlos García, legal advisor for the Mayors Federation, an organization that groups NPP-controlled municipalities, is the economics of the situation.
“It costs each municipality an average of $50,000 - $60,000 to run an adequate animal control program in accordance to Law 154. In the current economic environment, that amount is difficult to generate,” García said.
This revelation came during a hearing by the Senate Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Committee Thursday.The committee is investigating the application of Law 154, better known as the Law for the Ethical Treatment and Protection of Animals, and the problems associated with its implementation.
No data was given regarding the 30 municipalities in Popular Democratic Party hands. The Association of Mayors, the entity that represents them, did not attend the hearing.
García said that while most municipalities are aware of the law and the repercussions it could have if they do not comply with it, the fiscal situation prohibits the investment of resources in this area.
“Only 15 towns have contracts with private corporations such as the Humane Society and Animal Shelter of Puerto Rico, for the handling of stray animals including, euthanasia, which usually cost from $40 to $80 per animal,” García said.
The advisor added that three municipalities, San Juan, Arecibo and Ponce, have their own programs that include an animal shelter facility.
The committee’s Chairwoman, NPP Sen. Luz ‘Mariita’ Santiago, agreed with García that more funds are needed.
“There’s no question that the State should do a better job providing resources to the municipalities. This is one of the things we are investigating here. We will be prepared to submit legislation assigning funds for the application of the Law soon,” Santiago said.
That could not be necessary if a proposed addendum to the law, presented Thursday by NPP senator Melinda Romero, is approved by the Senate.
“If we can create a law- enforcing unit within the police force that would not require municipal funding, that should alleviate the problem somewhat,” Romero said.
The measure was well received by García, who added that besides the intervention aspect of the law, a special orientation program should be developed in order to make the public aware of the problem.
For Police Chief José Figueroa Sancha the idea is plausible if the proposed measure will emphasis the orientation of the population.
In his written remarks, the police chief said that “there’s a long road to cover in order to better inform the public of the rights of the animals and that no one should keep quiet if they see an act of cruelty against them.”
Police Auxiliary Field inspector, Justo Alfonso who represented Sancha in the hearing, stated that Mayagüez, Ponce and San Juan are the areas where more violations of Law 154 occurred.
“We know the areas and we are working on better mechanisms to isolate the problem. As a first step, we have created new animal affairs coordinating offices in all of our 13 operating regions on the island and we hope to see a different pattern rising because of this move,” Alfonso said.
Also present at the one hour hearing was members of the PARE Animal Protection Organization. Although the group is not scheduled to testify until Wednesday, its Secretary, Sally Tully Figueroa, placed the blame of the apparent failure of the law on the lack of knowledge of the law enforcement community.
“Certainly, the lack of funds is a problem, but the main one is that neither the police department nor the district attorneys have an understanding of the law. We need to do a better job informing the authorities,” Tully Figueroa said.