An Estimated
1 Million Dogs Live On The Streets
In Costa Rica is not unusual to see dogs roaming the streets and
breaking garbage bags in search for food. According to the Servicio
Nacional de Salud Animal (Senasa), there are about 1 million street
dogs in the country. And that is despite laws that regulate the
breeding, the mistreatment and abandonment of animals.
The street dogs in Costa Rica, called "zaguates", live among people
and fighting for their life for a scrap of food or to defend their
small piece of territory carved out for themselves to survive.
Gerardo Vicente, director of Senasa, explains that most of the dogs
are victims of violence and mistreatment. The veterinarian added
that in Costa Rica there is no "perrera" or dog catcher program and
few have the luck of being taken care of the neighbours where they
live.
Vicente makes it clear that the majority of the street dogs are
condemned to die.
Guisela Vico, president of the Asociación Protectora de Animales (ANPA)
agrees with Vicente. Vico says that even though the dogs may make it
to one of the several shelters in the country, the probability will
be they end up being put to death.
Vico added that daily between 15 and 70 dogs are left at the
doorsteps of the shelters, many by their owners who do not want the
dog anymore, taxing the financial resources of the shelters and that
few make it out the door on their paws, as the shelters constantly
turn to euthanasia.
February and March are months with higher incidents of abandoned
pets, as those puppies that made such a great Christmas gift are now
bigger and difficult to handle and costly to maintain. Although some
are taken to shelters or given to friends, the majority of the
abandoned end up on the streets.
To combat the problem, both the ANPA and a number of other animal
associations hold monthly castration campaigns in different
communities around the country. However, only an estimated 1/3 of
the dogs and cats are sterilized.
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