Educating people in animal welfare
A FREE conference about the problems of abandonment and abuse of animals is to be held in Orihuela this weekend (March 11 and 12), announced councillor for animal health Luis Quesada on Friday.
There will be various talks from 09.15 to 13.00 in the CAM building on Saturday, by legal experts and a town hall health department technician, about the new national and regional animal welfare laws, as well as real cases dealt with by the municipal services.
“The law has changed and there are gaps in society,” said the councillor.
“The Valencian law was approved on January 23, ahead of the state one, and it gives us solutions and tells us how to protect and look after animals, it aims for there to be no euthanasia and considers animals to be sentient beings and not just pets.”
The changing laws are causing uncertainty for people and this is intended to resolve these doubts, said health department technician Carmen Martínez, noting that the state law has not yet been approved (it is now passing through the Senate) and the regional one has not yet come into force
The other talks on Saturday will focus on the work of animal protection associations and centres.
Asoka, the association that manages the municipal centre in Orihuela, will put on a video to show the value of what they do and congratulate their volunteers for their efforts, said Sr Quesada.
There will also be a talk by an ethics expert on compassion fatigue, a process which people who work in animal welfare have described.
Entry is free and no reservations are required but capacity is limited. Then on Sunday more recreational activities have been planned at the Glorieta Gabriel Miró.
There will be eight tents run by associations offering information about their activities, a pet walk around the city centre at 10.30, and a dog training demonstration at 11.30.
There will also be ‘catwalks’ of animals available for adoption at 12.15, and of pets, with prizes in various categories, at 13.00, which can be entered by registering at the Asoka stand.
Asoka representative Alejandra García said that in the last year they have collected 18 cats and 73 dogs, some of which have been reclaimed by their owners.
“Animal abuse and abandonment is real, not an invention of protection associations,” she assured.
“This conference will help to raise public awareness of this problem.”