House approves Senate bill establishing ‘Pet Awareness Day’
By The Star Staff
The island House of Representatives approved on Monday, with 47 votes in favor, Senate Bill 388, authored by Carolina District Sen. Marissa “Marissita” Jiménez Santoni, which establishes the second Sunday of December as “Pet Awareness Day.”
“For years, the government has established a series of public policies to promote animal awareness in order to prevent animal abuse. As part of these initiatives, several behaviors against animals were classified as crimes, such as abandonment and mistreatment, as well as high penalties to deter this atrocious behavior,” Jiménez Santoni said. “This bill provides an additional platform to raise awareness among our citizens about the importance of treating pets properly.”
It is estimated that two out of three households in Puerto Rico have a pet.
“Our society, for the most part, values the role of the pet,” the senator added. “What we are doing with this legislation is focusing on the need for good treatment of these animals in our care.”
The bill also amends Articles 1 and 2 and adds a new Article 4, as well as renumbering Article 4 and Article 5, of Law 166-2019, in order to establish the second week of December as the “Week of Shelters, Animal Rescuers and Pet Awareness and Adoption in Puerto Rico.”