Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

Councilor Roberta Guaineri: "Whoever takes them at home should be aware of the commitment that this choice entails"

Milan, August 13 2019 – The kennel-cat shelter park of the Municipality of Milan is open and operational throughout August (except the 15th of the month). In fact, it is precisely in this period that the most frequent cases of animal abandonment in the area are recorded.

From the beginning of the year to the end of July, 101 cats were welcomed into the facility in via Aquila (in the first seven months of 2018 there were 103) and 65 were adopted (46 in 2018), while 116 dogs were welcomed (in first seven months of 2018 were 139) and 80 were adopted (133 in 2018).

There is therefore a decline in adoptions, because the structure increasingly hosts animals which, due to size, aggressiveness, seniority and health conditions, have more difficulty finding a family that can take care of them. A situation that also involves a forced slowdown of entries.

“Unfortunately this is the result of non-responsible behavior – declares Roberta Guaineri, councilor with responsibility for Policies for the protection and defense of animals –: even today many people take an animal into their home in a too superficial way, without being fully aware of the of this commitment. Anyone who decides to adopt an animal must know that it will become an integral part of the family for its entire existence and, as such, will require affection, attention, care and also a constant expenditure of time and economic resources. It is not an object, an ornament, something we can get rid of when we think it has become 'excess' in our lives. But despite repeated appeals and awareness campaigns, we are still seeing many abandonments, too many. I will never tire of repeating it: abandoning an animal is a crime. And when you decide to bring a new four-legged friend into your home, first go and visit the many animals housed in our refuge park who are just waiting for a family to finally take care of them with affection and awareness. Finally, I would like to remind you of the importance of sterilisation, which is still too often seen as violence against the animal or as a useless expense when it is the only real tool we have against the uncontrolled proliferation of animals and against stray animals".