National outcry against killing of pitbull Zico
by Carrie-Marie Bratley,
in General ·
17-01-2013 09:35:00 ·
There has been an unprecedented display of national
solidarity to save a pitbull-cross, believed to be responsible for the
death of a toddler, from being put down. Nearly 70,000 people have
signed a petition to stop the dog from being destroyed, backed by
Portugal’s largest animal rights association.
The dog had reportedly been sleeping in a dark kitchen on Sunday evening when the young boy toddled in there and fell on it. The animal is believed to have turned, causing fatal brain injuries that led to the toddler’s death two days later.
Zico was collected by Alentejo inter-municipal veterinary services on Monday (7 January) and was set to be destroyed eight days later, on Monday this week.
An almost immediate national outcry followed the news that he was to be put to sleep.
A petition was launched to try and save the dog from death, and a week later more than 68,700 people had signed it.
Aimed at Beja Council and its municipal vet, the author of the petition, an unidentified female citizen, said the objective was to “fight against the killing of Zico, who attacked a child in Beja, and of all the other Zicos spread throughout the country…”
“Putting the dog down is not the answer”, the petition argues, claiming: “In these cases there should be an investigation into what caused the dog’s reaction (if it was provoked, if it’s not being treated properly, etc.) and if rehabilitation or training is an option.
“If people aren’t ‘put down’ for making mistakes, for stealing, for killing, don’t do it to animals either. They also deserve a second opportunity. For each life lost because of an animal attack, various lives are saved by animals”, the petition argues.
Offers to adopt the dog have also flooded in from across the country.
Speculators have questioned why the toddler was allowed to wander into a dark kitchen unsupervised, and cries that the dog was instinctively defending itself have been loud and plentiful.
There are also calls for the toddler’s autopsy report to be made public.
National animal rights association ‘Animal’ intervened by submitting a subpoena to Beja Courts last week to delay the dog’s killing.
Last Friday the court ruled in Animal’s favour, making the subpoena an injunction which now awaits a response from the municipal vet and the General Directorate for Food and Veterinary (DGAV), therefore delaying Zico’s fate until that time.
“The court provisionally upheld Animal Association’s request to not put Zico down”, Rita Silva, the association’s president explained, adding that by law the dog should be held for fifteen days and not eight.
“The animal was being kept in an inadequate environment and can be rehabilitated. Until there is a definite resolution to the injunction, the killing has been suspended. It is a complex judicial battle”, she said.
In the meantime Zico will remain at the Resialentejo Kennel.
Last Friday Beja council also released a statement saying that it “had followed and is following with great dismay and deep concern, the whole situation that led to the tragic death of a child as a result of serious injuries allegedly inflicted by a dog.”
Following Zico’s removal from the family apartment there was an outburst of support in its defence with many people claiming the dog, which belonged to the victim’s uncle, was neglected and malnourished when it was taken in by the inter-municipal services.
Jacinto Pinto, the victim’s grandfather, told the press that “a year or so ago” he had asked the municipal services to take the dog and put him to sleep as he “didn’t have the conditions to keep the dog at home.”
By his own admission he had been “surprised” by the attack and described the family pet as a “gentle” dog that “had always lived with children” and in its nine years had “never” attacked or hurt anyone.
On Monday morning this week a source from the Resialentejo kennel shot down suggestions that the dog was in a poor condition.
“It is not [badly treated], and it is not thin at all”, the source told The Portugal News, refusing to comment further.
Rita Pina managed to secure a visit to see Zico on Monday afternoon, but was refused access at the last minute.
For several hours the Animal president and Resialentejo kennel representatives engaged in conversation, but despite much insistence Ms. Pina was not allowed to see the dog and was told a court order would be necessary.
“They guaranteed he is ok and is being well looked after, but I wanted to see it with my own eyes”, Rita Pina told The Portugal News, adding that, on the other hand, she understood their reluctance given the unprecedented public interest in the case and seeing that the kennel has been made the animal’s legal trustee.
She instructed the association’s lawyers to immediately initiate proceedings to obtain a court order to visit the dog, which she is confident will be granted.
“This is one of those situations where we have to act in strict conformity with the law”, she said, describing the number of people showing willing to adopt Zico as “touching.”
A protest against the ‘killing of animals in municipal kennels, victims of an unfair and archaic law’ has been organised by ‘Animal’ for 2 February, gathering outside the DGAV in Lisbon.
Attached is a link to footage by TVI, who were given access to the kennel where Zico is being held: http://www.tvi.iol.pt/videos/13784224
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