Last August 17th was the International Homeless Animals Day. In Spain there are about 6.5 million family dogs and 4.7 million family cats, and last year 286,000 were rescued from abandonment. These statistics were published by Affinity Foundation, and come mainly from animal shelters. Spain is the only country in Europe in which a serious study and investigation about this matter has been performed. The number of abandoned animals hasn’t increased in the last 4 years, and this is mostly because of mandatory microchipping in dogs and cats, and also because fines for mistreating and abandoning pets are much bigger now, and even in case of death, the offender may face up to 36 months imprisonment.

We must insist once again microchipping is absolutely necessary for preventing abandonment and accidental loss of pets.

Nowadays, practically 100% of dogs are identified, specially those ones which travel abroad. About cats, whose identification is also mandatory since last year, the number of microchipped ones is getting bigger and bigger.

In order to make effective all the advantages of microchipping, keeping all the owners details updated (address, phone number and email address), is critical. It is the owner’s responsibility to keep all these details updated. If you don’t know how to do it, ask your Vet and we will show you the way step by step.

What do I do if I find an abandoned animal?

  • If we are talking of a wild animal which is in danger, or causing any kind of danger, we should phone 112 (emergencies). If there is no danger, we should tell the Environmental Agents (if necessary we would do it for you).
  • In case of a companion pet, you can bring it to a Vet practice, or maybe tell the Local Police, in order to have its microchip scanned for locating the owner. In case it’s impossible, the animal can stay in Local Police facilities till the owner is found. This is one of Local Police obligations.

Some weeks ago, a client came to our practice reporting a big parrot had appeared at his garden. The bird was a Green Winged Macaw, one of the biggest species. In less than 20 minutes, two officers managed to catch the bird and bring it to our practice. We scanned the microchip, contacted the owner, so she recovered quickly her macaw.

Cooperation is basic for avoiding abandonment or loss. Identifying our pets, no matter if it’s mandatory or not, is the first step.

CLINICA VETERINARIA | GRAN ALACANT EXOTICS
Find us here: Calle Holanda 9, MASA Square
T: 966 698 569

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