In response to the students of the Edge Academy, I have followed up on a request to know more about stray dogs in Chile, and have done a bit of research.
After our last conversation, I found a non-profit organization in Viña del Mar that offers a shelter and puts homeless pets up for adoption. I went on a bike journey to find the organization but ended up in a nice neighborhood with no shelter. After I described the situation to the woman who use to house me (my Chilean mother), she told me that her friend works for the organization for which I was relentlessly searching. She explained that they moved to a different part of town, and said that the organization does great work.
I did a Google search and found many non-profits that work with homeless animals in the area. Unlike the States, the Chilean government does not offer animal control and shelters.
Unfortunately, the officials in Valparaiso, Chile have their own plans to eradicate street dogs. In September of 2010, the city passed an ordinance to fine anyone caught feeding homeless dogs. Their argument was that this was the best way to reduce the number of homeless pets. In response to the plan, a news publication called the El Activista (The Actavist) explained (the following is translated from Spanish),
“we repudiate the false ‘solution’ posed by ‘authorities’ in Chile, whose sole purpose is to kill innocent dogs through suffering. We call for concrete action against the municipality and the authorities that passed this ordinance. The solution to the homeless dogs is, mass sterilization and adoptions,” (http://fanzineelactivista.blogspot.com/2010/09/el-activista-denuncia-alcalde-quiere.html).
Although the Chilean government is not exploring sustainable solutions to homeless pets, the people of Chile are calling out for some. Many non-profits along with the humane society are working towards finding these animals homes. Publications are asking citizens to take a stand.
I look forward to finding more information as I continue to travel. In the meantime, please ask me any questions that come to mind and do not hesitate to request further research about anything that catches your eye.
Your South American investigator,
Rayna
-The doggies were cute!(Jesse)
ReplyDelete-Thanks for responding to our questions about the stray dogs!! (Anthony)
-Stephan just took a trip to Vietnam and he counted stray dogs using his ipod touch. He counted 255 stray dogs in a 3 day span.
-Do you see a large amount of stray cats?(Emme)If so, can you do a blog on stray cats? (Joe)
-Are any of the stray animals native to the region? (Julia)
-Could you do a dog count for a day? (Austin)
Dear Edge students,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your comments. I am sorry I have not responded until now. Things have been a bit busy. Anyhow, I have not seen as many stray cats. As soon as I get to a place where doing a dog count would be realistic, I will certainly do one. Thanks again and keep the comments coming.