Council of Majorca launches campaign to save pets

Nearly 8'000 domestic pets are abandoned in the Balearics every year, not counting those which die on the roads, and this has led the Council of Majorca to launch a campaign, No Nos Abandones, Don't Abandon Us. Details of the campaign were announced yesterday at a press conference given by Council of Majorca president Maria Antonia Munar and Miquel Angel Borrás, head of the environemnt department. Munar said that it was the first campaign of its kind launched by the Council, because, although the problem of stray pets is the responsibility of individual town and city councils, it is the Council which has to cover the cost of the 300'000 kilos of waste and putting unwanted animals down. The campaign will be held from January 16 to February 15, with posters on 70 hoardings throughout Majorca and between January 21 and February 3 with 150 posters at bus stations. All have the same image, a cat and a dog, and the slogan, “don't abandon us, if you adopt us, let it be forever.” Stickers will also be distributed, and the Council believes that the campaign will reach 95 per cent of the population. In schools, a vet will give lectures to children on the responsibility of looking after a pet. Council sources said that the present time has been chosen for the campaign, because a lot of pets are given as gifts over the Christmas period and many are abandoned shortly afterwards. The source said they included not only cats and dogs but also more exotic animals such as snakes and iguanas.