Activists reveal that the majority of cases in Quintana Roo occur in Benito Juárez, Playa del Carmen and Puerto Morelos.
Torture that ends in the death of opossums in Quintana Roo has been reported by associations in 2024, due to ignorance and without the state law in favor of animals having effect.
Claudia González Camacho, the founder of Tlacuatitlán, commented that during January and February of this year, 65 injured opossums from various municipalities of the state have been treated, of which 14 suffered animal cruelty when they were attacked with machetes, burned, and hanged, without having sanctions.
Of these 14 incidents, 12 died and two remain under veterinary care. While another 43 have also been harmed by citizens by being run over, fell into traps, or were found with injuries caused by other animals, such as domestic dogs.
It should be noted that 70% of the dead opossums have been found in Cancún, and the rest is distributed between Puerto Morelos, Solidaridad, and other municipalities.
González Camacho added that the attacks begin when people who do not have information about the opossums find them under cars, near houses, or in parks.
To assist them, the founder of Tlacuatitlán explained that the call is received, the volunteers go to do the rescue, they take them to veterinarians and then they are released. Although citizens have also been asked to take the animals to a veterinarian.
González Camacho regretted that after questioning people about why they attack opossums, they point out that this species eats other animals such as chickens, because they seem ugly to them, and because they believe they can transmit diseases, but they have never shown they know which diseases.
Opossums are beneficial to society
On the other hand, the interviewee highlighted that the benefits of opossums are that they are pest controllers, such as cockroaches, tarantulas, ticks, horseflies, scorpions, bed bugs, among other insects, and opossums even kill poisonous snakes.
If you see one of these animals in your property, please call the Benito Juárez Fire Department so they can capture and release the animal elsewhere.
How can I report an attack against an opossum?
To report, it is necessary to present the case to the State Attorney General’s Office (FGE), accompanied by an image or video of the attack, the address, and, if possible, the name of the aggressor.
According to the Animal Protection and Welfare Law of the State of Quintana Roo , animal cruelty is punishable with a fine of more than $21,700 pesos up to a couple of years in prison.
The interviewee highlighted that during the opossum mating season, from January to March, attacks on these mammals are expected to increase in the coming weeks, an average of 100 cases are registered per week.
Finally, according to information from Tlacuatitlan, in 2023 around two thousand reports of injured marsupials were recorded, of which 50% involved animal cruelty.
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