Animal lovers fight ‘cruel’ put-down rule for strays

Madrid/Palma.—A Madrid association is aiming to change Spanish law under which abandoned pets can be put down just ten days after being picked up from the streets.
The animal protection organization El Refugio has launched a petition which, it believes, will trigger a debate in the Madrid legislative assembly to change the law in the region, something that Catalonia has already done.
“Six hundred metric tons of dogs have been put down in the past 10 years in Madrid alone,” El Refugio president Nacho Paunero said, adding that the money saved from not paying dog and cat pounds to carry out these operations would better be employed on policies aimed at preventing the abandonment of animals.