A town in the north of Spain has become the first place to grant cats and dogs special rights as “non-human neighbours”. Trigueros del Valle, a town of 300 inhabitants in the province of Valladolid, has accepted a declaration which seeks to “dignify the lives of dogs and cats, animals which have stayed with man, thousands and thousands of years and have been a great help to him.”
“It seems to me a very important, historic declaration, like, for example, the day that children’s rights were enshrined for the first time,” Mercedes Cano, an animal rights campaigner told. “Trigueros del Valle is a place where people love animals, they have lots of dogs and cats,” she said. “People coexist with them and often work with them.”
“We’re not saying you have to love cats and dogs, but you have to respect them,” said Ms Cano. “If you respect them, then you’ll respect the other [human] neighbours as well.”
This initiative is an attempt to protect the animals from cruelty and abuse, as well as acknowledging their importance in the town, which is situated in an agricultural area. Besides the symbolism of the decree, it also means that the town hall will take responsibility for any abandoned cats and dogs and it will rebuke owners who mistreat their animals.
Town's Socialist mayor, Pedro Perez Espinosa said that, the new status for the town's animals is the right move. The mayor added, 'Dogs and cats have been living among us for over a 1,000 years. The mayor must represent not just the human residents, but must also be here for the others.'
The new pet protections were welcomed by animal rights groups. They said, “Today, we are closer as species and we are now more human thanks to the sensitivity and intelligence shown by the people of Trigueros del Valle. This is a great day for humans and non-human citizens alike.”
It is a landmark decision in a country like Spain, which still allows the controversial “sport” of bullfighting.
It is the best thing for the animals to have a dignified life. But, it is not wrong to think that human too should be able to live with full dignity. In many countries that is not happening. Humans are treated as ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’.
By Premji
