Thanks to an investment of 100 million colones, residents from Vieja Metrópoli, inaugurated the Municipal Educational Center for Animal Care (CMECA); they aim to control the canine overpopulation, to encourage education for animal care, as well as to promote the adoption of stray animals and contribute to public health.
Rolando Rodríguez, mayor of Cartago, declared that the center is about 8 thousand square meters and it will work in the sterilization of the stray dogs population and they will raise awareness about the owners’ responsibility. It also aims to prevent violence and guarantee animal welfare.
It is estimated that the country has about 1 million 200 thousand stray dogs and the canton of Cartago presents greater problems. This is the first center at municipal level in Central America and in the country, as explained by the mayor.
Dogs are going to be just for a while in the center because they will not sleep in there. However, they are going to be sterilized and vaccinated. The issue of adoption is important, so we will create a website so that people can have information about the animals that can be adopted,
declared Rodríguez.
Five people will be responsible for addressing the site, including a veterinarian and his assistants, who will be responsible for sterilization. The mayor said the center has a capacity to serve 50 dogs, as consequence, it will not receive animals taken by the citizens.
The Center was inaugurated on October 26th and it will be open from 7 am to 5 pm