2024-04-02 14:53:00
Caterina Maniaci 02 April 2024
And white bundle which moves spasmodically, at the edge of the road, immersed in the darkness of the night. A disturbing apparition on the provincial road that connects Pontecorvo in Pignataro Interamna, in the province of Frosinone, deserted at this hour. Or rather, not completely deserted: one couple passes by, notices that white bundle and approaches, realizes that it is a plastic bag, which is also sealed. Who knows what or who it contains, it must definitely be the work of humans, only humans can put a living being inside a bag to make him meet a terrible end.
The husband takes courage, opens the bundle, while the wife films the scene with her cell phone: a little head comes out of the hole made in the plastic, and two small frightened eyes can be seen. He’s a Yorkshire puppy, scared and cold, was destined for death and instead… A story with a happy ending, the kind you expect to hear on Easter night. Indeed, Giannathe woman who found the dog together with her husband, writes on her profile: «This year for Easter I received a special egg with an equally special surprise, I found Pasqualino, a joyful and playful puppy. Welcome to the family.” The video of their intervention was then posted on social media with a rather clear comment: “If any good person recognizes this dog please tell me who the owner is so I can go and find him together with the police.”
CRIMINAL IMPLICATIONS – In fact, those good people who instead devised this cruel end for an unwanted puppy are now at great risk. Up to seven years in prison and withdrawal of driving license for those who abandon their animals on the street, causing victims or injuries. This is foreseen by the new measure of the Highway Code, under discussion in Parliament. The current article n.727 of the Penal Code states that “Whoever abandons domestic animals or those who have acquired habits of captivity is punished with imprisonment for up to one year or with a fine of 1,000 to 10,000 euros. Anyone who keeps animals in conditions incompatible with their nature and resulting in serious suffering is subject to the same penalty.”
Unfortunately, the data supports those who argue that the problem is serious and deserves adequate measures. In fact, 50 thousand dogs are abandoned in Italy every year, mostly in the cities of Central and Southern Italy.
Not to mention cats: the cats that suddenly find themselves without an owner are around 80 thousand, also left on the street without food, wandering here and there, even if we know that cats can get by on their own, but there are dangerous roads where they can end up under a car or thrown into a ditch. Stories like Pasqualino’s, therefore, are not a rarity and often do not end with a happy ending. Dogs tied to the side of the road, puppies in bags thrown in the garbage, or even burned alive… stories of ordinary cruelty and inhumanity. The latest report was drawn up, with the data cited above, not only by an animal rights organisation, but by the Forestry, Environmental and Agri-food Unit Command (Cufa) of the Carabinieri.
Scrolling through the figures, in more detail, we see that between 2022 and 2023 there were 9,855 checks by the Cufa Carabinieri: 5,960 people were checked, of which 545 were reported, while there were 6 seizures; However, 212 fines were issued for an amount of €128,731.90.
AN ARMY OF BEASTS – An Italy that is different and teeming with life appears to us if we reconstruct it through various estimates, because overall there are more than 60 million animals that live with humans in our country. Considering in this sense only the most widespread domestic animals, we are talking about over 7 million dogs and a little more cats, to which many others must be added. Approximate estimates, because we are talking about the declared four-legged ones, taking into account that to these cohabitants we must add almost 13 million birds, 30 million fish and a large group of small mammals and reptiles. Impressive numbers which however do not include farmed animals and the many strays and feral animals. Here, if we consider that the Italian “human” population amounts, according to the latest Istat estimates, to just over 59 million, the ratio is essentially one to one: there is something to think about.
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