Among the new measures dictated by the Havana government on hygiene and communal services, one has caused particular irritation. This is the prohibition of pets or free-range animals on beaches, as well as in cemeteries or garbage dumps, which may lead, depending on the resolution which came into effect on Wednesday of this week, between 1,500 and 2,000 pesos in fines.
The Cuban Association in Defense of Animals (Ceda) declared its “complete disagreement” with the article. in a post on their social networksWell, he argues, it goes against the Animal Welfare Decree Law. This expressly says that “pet owners must collect the waste and dirt they generate,” they explain in their text, where they propose: “Beaches can be established where pets cannot go, or months of the year in which pets cannot go. “pets should not go, or times of day. But it is unacceptable that pets are prohibited from their families’ relaxation areas.”
The CEDA also believes that “thanks to the fact that there are people who take care of their health and nutrition”, the animals that would be “in those places in any way, for example in cemeteries”, are not “a danger to society, and are become a benefit, because they increase the security of the areas, create a more pleasant space between people and they stop reproducing when they are sterilized.
“We do not accept that people who care for the few animals that do not really cause hygiene problems are penalized”
In Cuba there are “millions of stray animals,” concludes the association: “We do not accept that people who care for the few animals that do not really cause hygiene problems are penalized, even more so, when there are no shelters or government solutions to mitigate the situation of so many animals suffering and in critical conditions on the streets.
Another animal activist, identified in networks as Filoxiraptorargued: “The beaches and their surrounding areas are not dirty by animals and I have never seen the authorities impose fines for non-compliance with this measure for natural and legal persons.”
The protector also said that if there are “community animals” (strays) it is “due to abandonment and lack of awareness campaigns in the country” and that, even, “most veterinarians, due to lack of resources, recommend taking them to the beach.” to improve skin problems, tone muscles and rehabilitation processes.
Visiting this Friday on the beaches of Santa María, Mar Azul and Megano, east of the capital, 14 intervene He noticed that there were no pets on the beach. However, it is not because the new rule is being rigorously implemented, but because, to begin with, it is what usually happens.
“It is not usual to bring animals because most of us who come travel by public transport, where they are prohibited,” explains to this newspaper a bather who says that she left her two dogs at home, in Central Havana, and that she is not happy. according to the measurement. “It would be the last straw, with the filth that is everywhere, for them to take it with the animals.” And she points to a pile of cans thrown into the sand, ironically: “The little dogs left all this here, I’m sure.”
“There is no need to fight, if there are no police officers on the street, imagine inspectors,” the lifeguard reasoned.
On the other hand, asked about the new rules, a lifeguard ventured that there would be no problem bringing pets to the beach. “There is no need to fight, if there are no police officers on the street, imagine yourself inspectors,” the man reasoned.
The article referring to animals is not the only one that has aroused annoyance about the new regulations, which include penalties of 2,000 to 3,000 pesos for those who fail to comply with the established schedule for depositing waste in containers. The comments on the news in the official Cubadebate they attest to it.
“Those measures are very nice and I would like them to be applied, but I want you to tell me where I put the garbage when the containers are full, because as far as I know, the garbage collection trucks do not pass by every day and the containers fill up in less than one day,” says a user identified as Daniel. Besteiro expresses himself in the same sense: “In my neighborhood (EMBIL distribution, Boyeros) it is very common for 10 days or more to go by without collecting waste, and with the tank full, where is the garbage deposited?”
Latino asks himself: “What do they do with those who steal the wheels from the garbage containers and then make wheelbarrows and drive them past the police? What do they do with the Comunales workers who throw the tanks from the trucks and, new ones, do they break them?”
“Only mobilizing the popular conscience, and where is the rest? Does Comunales’ obligation as a public servant, and the cause of all this disaster, no longer count?” questions commentator Paloma, who lists: “Giant garbage dumps, clogged sewers , long-standing leaks, unswept streets, sewage spills, uncut grass, sidewalks destroyed by garbage collectors, indolent workers who mistreat the tanks and leave the street full of garbage, and much more, there is nothing that to do with popular consciousness”.
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