On 25th June 2023, thousands of people protested in Mexico City and other Mexican cities demanding an end to animal abuse and harsher penalties for abusers amid increasingly frequent cases of cruelty to animals. The march started at the Angel of Independence and ended in the capital’s Zocalo.
Slogans such as “No more animal abuse,” “Jail for animal murderers” and “Stiffer penalties for abusers” could be seen among the protesters who were asking the authorities to deal with the serious issue of animal abuse more efficiently. Protestors demanded that non-human animals should be officially considered sentient beings in the Mexican Constitution, that animal abuse and cruelty be considered serious crimes that include custodial sentences, and that Article 73 of the Constitution, which addresses environmental protection and the preservation and restoration, be modified to allow Congress to legislate for animal welfare.
There have been recent cases of horrible animal abuse that have prompted this demonstration. In April 2023, in Tecamac, a man identified as Sergio “N” was arrested after he allegedly threw a dog into a vat of boiling oil. Weeks later, a 15-year-old high school student in Huauchinango, Puebla, posted photos on Facebook of a puppy named Huellitas that she said she had tortured and killed. Those attending the march observed a minute of silence for all these animals who were victims of cruelty.
Since 2016, three attempts to create the first General Animal Welfare Law in the country failed in both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.
Jorge Rayón, the guardian of Fabio, the little dog that runs through the streets of the capital aboard a replica of the RB18 single-seater, said to Infobae México, “As a society we have to start from home, with education. We have to start teaching our children that respect for all living things is vital. We all coexist on this planet, we all need each other. We all have rights.”
