Defense of animals in Cuba: when citizen mobilization becomes law
Havana (Cuba), February 2021: Gilda Arencibia, animal protection activist, in her house where she has taken in several street dogs.
REUTERS - ALEXANDRE MENEGHINI
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
Cuba has just adopted a decree-law for the protection of animals thanks to citizen pressure.
In this country ruled by the Communist Party alone and where the right to demonstrate is rarely allowed, this is a small victory for civil society, after years of battle.
Publicity
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with our correspondent in Havana,
Domitille Piron
Dogs and cats abandoned in Havana,
Roosters fighting in blood for unscrupulous punters,
And horses used for carriage transport until their last breath ...
Deseado que la #leydebienestaranimal sea aprobada de una vez y surja efecto de inmediato.
Cuando un gobierno interferes en tu progreso son los animales quienes más lo sufren.
# cubacontraelmaltratoanimal🇨🇺 pic.twitter.com/n9HXGv6EAX
- guajiro cubano (@unguajirocubano) January 22, 2021
A law for the protection of Cuban animals was becoming more than necessary according to animal activists.
With three months late, a demonstration in front of the Ministry of Agriculture and years of citizen pressure, the decree-law on animal welfare has finally been approved.
A small victory for civil society, according to Beatriz Batista, who calls herself an animal rights activist.
“
Yes, we succeeded but we had to put pressure, we had to apply a lot of pressure to make them listen to us and take us into consideration!
"
Ya sabemos cómo feels like realizing a sueño.
Este es el comienzo de un nuevo capĂtulo para todos los animalales de Cuba y para todxs aquellxs que se preocupan y velan por su bienestar.
Juntxs, ¡lo logramos.
Ya #Cuba tiene su primer #DecretoLeyDeBienestarAnimal.
pic.twitter.com/z9dr5QNpDR
- CeDA (@CeDA_Cuba) February 27, 2021
The defense of animals, a battle supported by the musician Silvio Rodriguez who has published in his blog
Segunda Cita,
several posts in favor of this cause.
Under citizen pressure, the Ministry of Agriculture therefore issued this decree.
But Yobani Gutiérrez Ravelo, director of the Animal Health Center at the ministry, assures us that the initiative is not new and he insists on the democratic nature of the process.
“
This decree did not come out of nowhere, nor has it appeared now, we have been observing international recommendations for 20 years and listening to veterinarians and conservationists.
"
Religious sacrifices will now be regulated, as will cockfighting which is a Cuban tradition.
For animal rights activists, this is a small victory, but "better a minimum of legal framework for the protection of animals than nothing at all" believes some.
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