Enough is enough: Arona MUST act over animal problems in Los Cristianos

[Janet]

I've debated with myself for the last twelve hours over whether to post this or not, and whether to include the photo or not, and I'm still not sure this is the right thing to do ... but on balance I've decided to. A poor little pet cat was killed just outside Parque Tropical III in Los Cristianos the night before last. I am not going to reproduce the photo that the owner has posted on Facebook, suffice to say that it is horrendous, and of course the overwhelming feeling from those responding to it is that the attack was carried out by the feral dog pack that I've posted about previously HERE.

The problem is that it is not certain that it's that pack of dogs that was responsible: the owner says that she didn't see it happen, and another person in the area says that just two hours before the poor cat was found the mountain above the area where he was found was swarming with hunting dogs. Looking at the photo too, which is not something one can do without horror, it is not a cat that's been "torn apart" ... sorry to be blunt, but it's been disembowelled. There are reports of cat haters in the area as well as hunting dogs, and either would be capable of this ... but the pack of feral dogs I've seen photos of would be more like to tear it limb from limb.

And yet, something or someone killed that pet, and there are other reports of animals being killed in that area under Guaza mountain as well. It's difficult to know what the actual situation is with the pack of dogs because despite reports of sightings, there have been no reports of any actual substance. There were a few at the beginning of last year and the end of 2012, as I said in the item at the time, but after the last one where a woman was injured a couple of months after the council said it was appointing dog-catchers, there's been complete official silence.

The bottom line, however, is that animals are dying and people are distressed and fearful. If that is not sufficient for the council to act, then what is? The owner of this poor cat says that she met the police as she was carrying his body home. They said that this was a matter for the politicians and that she should complain to them. Arona Policía Local, like all local police forces, is run by an Ayuntamiento. In this and many other respects, Arona's local police despair of their own impotence, an impotence caused, they repeatedly say, by the ineptitude and lack of interest displayed by Arona's municipal authorities.

So, the police themselves are instructing the public to complain to the council ... and we don't want to disobey the police, do we? Arona's Facebook page is HERE, twitter HERE, email is portalweb@arona.org, phone is 922 761 600, website is HERE, offices are in Arona town itself and of course in the Cultural Centre in Los Cristianos. Let's start obeying the police, shall we? (all live links from the above post on my website: JA)

[Guanche]

More worrying to me is that this poor cat could have been a child!

Just a question. Do the council have their own kennels for strays? Or are they handed to the various animal charities around and about. If thats the case does the council contribute to theses kennels for the public work they undertake? Just trying to see if strays cost the council money. I assume they have a dog catcher?

The Police attitude here is no different to the UK Police. They don't collect strays or transport them. That job is done by the council. Anyone ringing up to say they had a stray was told to take it to the nearest police station with kennels. These were serviced by dog charitys and stray dogs taken away every three days or so. Or they were told to ring the dog catcher at the town hall.

[Michael]

I don't get it. On an island where some people poison dogs without a second thought, why has no-one taken things into their own hands? 

[Nova]

I don't get it. On an island where some people poison dogs without a second thought, why has no-one taken things into their own hands? 

Unless it wasn't a dog that did this horrible thing...  And I'm glad nobody has "taken things into their own hands" because the chances of a vengeful Joe Public getting the "right" dog are minimal, even if this was done by a dog.  I'm inclined to think the perpetrator was human myself, though I haven't seen the photo and don't wish to.

[Briz]

Going on Js description leads me to believe that anyone who thinks this is a gang of dogs needs their bumps feeling!

That isn't to say there isn't a problem with feral dogs.