Outrage Continues in Puerto Rico Over Pet Deaths
Pastor Dale Morgan
Outrage Continues in Puerto Rico Over Pet Deaths*
By ANDREW O. SELSKY
The Associated Press
Monday, October 15, 2007; 6:55 PM
BARCELONETA, Puerto Rico -- Angry pet owners and protesters demonstrated
outside a town hall in a northern Puerto Rico city on Monday, as outrage
grew over the killing of dozens of animals seized from residents of
housing projects.
The crowd tried unsuccessfully to meet with Barceloneta Mayor Sol Luis
Fontanez, who ordered last week's seizure of the cats and dogs that were
apparently later thrown from a 50-foot-high bridge. Some protesters
yelled "murderer."
Fontanez, who pledged to resign if his government is found responsible,
blamed a contractor hired to collect and euthanize the pets.
"My government acted according to the law," he told The Associated Press.
With the help of television news broadcasts, a few animals rescued with
broken bones and other injuries were reunited with their owners. Dozens
more were buried in a mass grave.
On Monday, the contractor denied responsibility and accused residents of
the housing projects of lying to get revenge for repeated raids to clear
stray animals.
"There are five people that went and saw their dogs there," said Julio
Diaz, owner of Animal Control solutions. "It's their version against
mine, and at some point they will have to prove it in court."
Puerto Rico police chief Pedro Toledo said anyone found responsible
could face cruelty charges that carry six-month to three-year prison terms.
"Depending on the evidence, charges could be filed for each dead
animal," he said.
The city hired the Puerto Rico-based firm Animal Control Solutions to
remove the pets after taking over administration of Barceloneta's three
housing projects on Oct. 1. Deputy Mayor Lisandro Reyes said the city
was responding to complaints about barking dogs and other concerns, but
they expected the animals would adopted or euthanized humanely.
"It's become a nightmare," Reyes said, adding that he wanted to see
those responsible for any pet massacre to be prosecuted by justice
officials.
"We want them to take this to the ultimate consequences," he told AP.
Residents said that during the confiscation, animal control officers
threatened to evict those who did not comply with a no-pet policy.
Fontanez said the seizure was ordered in line with Puerto Rican
regulations for government-supported housing. Those rules, copies of
which were distributed to reporters by Barceloneta officials, say dogs
and cats are among animals prohibited in public housing projects on the
island.
But the housing projects also receive funding from the U.S. government,
and the Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington said
it does not have a no-pet policy and would not authorize a mass
confiscation of animals.
"We're not only tremendously upset but deeply disgusted at the idea of
anyone doing this to innocent animals," department spokesman Brian
Sullivan said. "We're waiting for answers like everyone else."
Diaz said municipal workers conducted the raids and delivered the
animals to his employees for transportation to a shelter. But he denied
they were the same dogs and cats thrown off the bridge.
He added that some of the bodies were badly decomposed and appeared to
have been dumped well before the raids.
Animal rights activists have long criticized the treatment of pets in
Puerto Rico, where there is no pet registration law and little spaying
or neutering. Animal shelters are overwhelmed and must kill many of the
dogs they receive.
Fearing the incident could tarnish Puerto Rico's reputation
internationally, the island's tourism company issued a statement of
condemnation.
"This truly unfortunate incident is an isolated one and this is the
first time that the island has encountered such a situation," the
statement said.
____
Associated Press writer Manuel Ernesto Rivera contributed to this report
from San Juan.