Animal rights organizations questioned this Friday the legality of the sacrifice of more than 10,000 stray dogs recognized by Mexican Senator Mariela Gutiérrez in Tecámac (State of Mexico) and warned that no regulation allows this type of practice on that scale, despite the fact that President Claudia Sheinbaum has maintained that the law was not violated.
The spokesperson for the National Alliance One Million Hopes – which brings together more than 170 NGOs -, Ethel Herrejón, told EFE that no norm can be above the Constitutionwhich recognizes the right to a healthy environment, added to the fact that the Federal Animal Health Law restricts sacrifice to specific cases, which would not justify the mass elimination of healthy animals.
“No norm is above the laws (…) they are violating federal law,” he warned.
The controversy broke out after on Wednesday the legislator admitted having ordered the sacrifice of 10,000 dogs during her term as mayor of Tecámac, between 2019 and 2023, justifying the measure with the legal norm that regulates animal euthanasia methods.
The municipality of Tecámac, with 500,000 inhabitants, is located about 40 kilometers north of Mexico City.
Sheinbaum affirmed on Thursday that the law was not violated because the practice was contemplated in current regulations, although he considered it necessary to review it.
However, Herrejón maintained that the legislation only establishes how euthanasia should be carried out, but does not authorize or justify mass sacrifices and, in that sense, warned that this type of practices could lead to criminal liability at the state level.
“This person committed a crime,” he noted, and announced that the alliance is preparing a letter to demand the dismissal of Gutiérrez in the Senate, that his jurisdiction be removed and that he be criminally prosecuted.
In parallel, the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Mexico reported that it began an ex officio investigation for possible crimes of animal abuse, contemplated in the Penal Code state, which punishes causing the death of animals that do not constitute pests, with penalties that can reach up to six years in prison, aggravated if those responsible are public servants.
Herrejón insisted that it should be investigated under what methods the animals were sacrificed, pointing out that euthanasia requires specific medications and protocols that involve costs and supervision.
“Healthy animals cannot be sacrificed (…) Under what method were they annihilated?” he questioned.
He warned that, without a sufficient budget or records of drug use, there is no certainty that euthanasia was carried out in accordance with the regulations.
The activist also questioned whether the resources existed to carry out thousands of euthanasias, pointing out that, in her experience, animal control centers often lack even a budget for sterilizations, under the argument of the “austerity” of resources.
Herrejón explained that euthanasia involves a controlled medical procedure with progressive sedation, which, he said, calls into question whether it has been applied massively without documentation.
Finally, he indicated that versions suggest that the sacrifice was more than 14,000 dogs, which has not yet been confirmed by the authorities.
The controversy has revived the debate in Mexico about the management of stray animals, a problem that, according to Senator Gutiérrez herself, represents a “real crisis” at the national level due to abandonment, uncontrolled reproduction and the presence of sick or aggressive animals.
