Pets Taken From Poor And Brutally Killed

This is a sickening story, and shows how the poor of the world are not treated as other people are. They are not respected, and many times governments and individuals treat them as though they were second-class citizens and not worthy of having rights.

In the town of Barceloneta in Puerto Rico, the city government decided the poor should not have the right to own pets. They banned all pets from the town's HUD housing projects. When many did not get rid of their pets, the city hired a private company to recover the animals and take them to a shelter in a suburb of San Juan.

The city contracted to pay the company $60 for each animal recovered, and another $100 for each trip they made to the shelter. Evidently, the company interpreted this contract to mean they could use any means neccessary to make their money.

On Monday and Wednesday of last week, the company conducted massive raids on the housing projects. Animal welfare activist Alma Febus said, "They came as if it were a drug raid. They took away dogs, cats and whatever animal they could find. Some pets were taken away in front of children." The workers then injected the animals with what they said was a sedative "for the drive to the shelter".

But the animals weren't taken to the shelter. They were driven to a bridge in a neighboring town and thrown 50 feet to their death. Manuel Rivera, who lives near the bridge, said, "Many were already dead when they threw them, but others were alive. Some of the animals managed to climb to the highway even though they were all battered, but about 50 animals remained there, dead."

When asked about the pet massacre, HUD spokesman Brian Sullivan said, "This sickens me if true". He went on to say that the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) lets locally owned and operated housing authorities set their own rules regarding pets, but HUD does NOT grant authority for a "blanket ban" or "mass confiscation".

The owner of the private company (Animal Control Solution) was rather callous in his response. Owner Julio Diaz said, "They can't prove they are the same dogs that we picked up", obviously ignoring the fact that there were witnesses to the heinous act.

Now that this incident has received much news coverage, the city is saying they are going to cancel the contract with Animal Control Solution. But the city must accept their share of the blame. They had to know they were in violation of HUD policies.

But then the poor don't have any rights, do they?