In the city of Mérida, there are approximately 4,800 dogs that live on the streets, according to José Antonio Ríos Pérez del Valle, director of the Planned Pethood Veterinary Hospital and member of the Wildlife Protection Advisory Council in the city.
He mentioned that the municipal consultation body was working with the Autonomous University of Yucatán (Uady) on a study with scientific methods and under internationally authorized strategies on how to count an approximate number, resulting in a number that generated an impact among the councilors.
The truth is that the number is quite shocking. I think it is a low number of what we see daily going to work or school. It seems that there are around 4,800 dogs on the street in Mérida alone, not in communities or suburban municipalities, mentioned the doctor.
Given this figure, he added that within the Wildlife Protection Advisory Council, there are already ideas on how to attack the problem, leaving aside sterilization campaigns, such as the Community Dog program, which consists of a neighborhood that takes care of street animals.
He comments that for this program, they must work on the project to structure it at the level of society, as well as on the legal part of how it is going to be carried out, this being one of the strategies to eradicate the problem, since that its functionality has a scientific basis called “Carrying capacity of the earth”.
He added the Community Dog program keeps the canine population on the streets under control since the extermination or eradication of animals is not viable, especially because other dogs will always arrive. The strategy allows dogs to be on the street but healthy, sterilized, vaccinated, and not aggressive.
TYT Newsroom
