The inclusion (or not) of wildlife in the animal abuse bill confronts non-governmental organizations working on environmental issues.
While the Conservation Federation of Costa Rica (FECON) asked for them to be excluded, Preserve Planet maintains its firm position that they should be included in the bill.
FECON has a fixed position in the controversy generated by the definition of animal (before the second approval of the initiative in second reading by the Legislative Assembly). In its view, including wild fauna is inappropriate because it reduces the level of protection of wild animals that are already protected by the Wildlife Act.
The organization APREFLOFAS supports this position:
The current draft bill against animal abuse and the referendum proposal unduly group wild animals with other animals, when wild animals are already protected in the Wildlife Law and its reforms. The current proposal for animal welfare could rather reduce the degree of protection for wild animals for almost three decades, further generating confusion in the application of wildlife law and the future animal welfare law.”
But Luis Diego Marín, a spokesman for Preserve Planet in Costa Rica, said that from the beginning they have been following the project, which was quite advanced, but now is stranded.
This association wants wild animals not to be included in the law because the Wildlife Law protects them and the new one will affect compliance with the fines and penalties that are already established,”
said Marín.
The spokesman added that the latest cases of animal attacks are a sign that the current legal framework is not working.
Preserve Planet states it is ready to defend the bill so it does not change,
because if it’s going to be a law that only protects dogs and cats, this whole process has not served anything. It’s not that it’s not important, aggressions against domestic animals are obviously upsetting,”
said Marín.
Marín explained that, in case the conditions of the law are changed, their commission, several groups and organized people, would ask for a popular consultation, for which they already have the signatures.