Puerto Rico House panel hears calls to study funding for animal-abandonment response in District 20

The House of Representatives’ Comisión Oeste on Oct. 23 held a public hearing on Resolution Cámara 216, a measure introduced by Representative Emilio Carlos Acosta directing the House Committee on Social Welfare to study ways to secure funding and strengthen programs to combat animal abandonment and support rescuers in District 20 (Cabo Rojo, Hormigueros and San Germán).

The resolution’s sponsor, Representative Emilio Carlos Acosta, said the measure “responde a una preocupación genuina y urgente” among residents of the three municipalities and asked the panel to identify mechanisms so rescuers, municipalities and nonprofits can get needed support. “Queremos identificar qué mecanismos existen y cuáles se pueden crear para que los rescatistas, los municipios y las organizaciones sin fines de lucro puedan contar con el apoyo necesario para continuar su labor,” Acosta said.

The hearing assembled testimony from the Puerto Rico Police, the Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto (OGP) and the Department of Agriculture. Police testimony emphasized existing legal authority and operational limits under Law 154 of 2008 (Ley para el Bienestar y Protección de los Animales), while OGP described the measure as investigatory and without an immediate fiscal effect; the Department of Agriculture said it lacks centralized data and enforcement capacity for companion-animal abandonment.

Lic. Amneris Alvarado, representing the Puerto Rico Police, read the force’s statement that Law 154 of 2008 gives police and animal-control officers…