Mexico: Senate Approves Bill to Ban Dog Fighting

Mexico News Daily | Saturday, November 26, 2016

Senate approves bill to ban dog fighting
The law also stipulates some basic principles around caring for dogs

The Mexican Senate has passed a dog-fighting bill that would prohibit the organization and staging of dog fighting events at the national level and assure all dogs are treated with dignity.

The latter part of the bill, which amends the General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection, stipulates basic principles regarding the care of dogs, such as the provision of adequate food and water and providing medical attention when needed.

Some states have restrictions on events such as dog fighting but some civil organizations see them as insufficient.

In Aguascalientes there is an annual international dog fighting event in the spring where as many as a dozen different fights are on the bill.

The dogs can be worth thousands of dollars, says Antón Aguilar, executive director of the Humane Society International in Mexico, and betting at such events can be high. The breed of choice at the event is the pit bull.

Aguilar hailed the passing of the law in the Senate. “It’s good news in terms of getting rid of this practice. Organizers usually brutally kill dogs that lose. And the animals that emerge as ‘winners’ often die because of hemorrhages, injuries or infections caused by the fight.

“These events also cause emotional damage and affect dogs’ mental states, because no animal is aggressive by nature.”

One of three Senators who voted against the bill said there were many other more important matters that the Senate should be discussing, such as dealing with the problems of migrants and Donald Trump’s presidential election win in the U.S.

Victor Hermosillo of the National Action Party said Mexico has more serious needs that ought to be discussed. “Soon they’ll be calling for a stop to killing lobsters because they’re boiled alive. Oh, the poor things!”

The new law will now go to the Chamber of Deputies for its analysis.

http://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/senate-approves-bill-to-prohibit-dog-fighting/