Animals in Peru

Of Poisoned Dogs, Pigeons and Fujimori

Many thanks to the concerned people who’ve sent their good wishes to our dog Lola, who was poisoned last week in Parque Leoncio Prado, in Miraflores. Lola recovered thanks to the efforts of her vet, whose office is just blocks away.

Not every animal that is poisoned in Peru is fortunate to live close to a competent veterinarian. Many pets die of asphyxiation or shock (Lola was in shock when we took her in) before a remedy can be administered. Four of El Fotografo’s relatives have had dogs or cats die from poisoning or suspected poisoning over the last ten years, and in each case, the animal wasn’t found until too late.

Hearing about these deaths is very saddening, and it seems that nearly every time I mention Lola’s episode to someone in Lima, he or she relates another similar story that happened to a relative, a friend or a neighbor. I cannot stress enough how appalled I am at how routinely pets are poisoned in this country and, no, this situation is not the norm in the United States, as a couple of Peruvians who’ve left comments have blithely asserted.

I lived in the United States for more than 40 years, and I only heard of one person’s pet being poisoned — my parents’ cat in New York City, before I was born. People in the U.S. are more likely to shoot dogs that become vicious — a problem that affects owners of guard dogs and attack dogs, like Rottweilers and pit bulls. But murders of common household pets are rare in the United States, where 39 percent of households own at least one dog and another 34 percent own at least one cat, according to the Humane Society of the U.S. (Millions of animals are euthanized, however, due to overpopulation, I should point out.)

As an expat in Peru, I look at events from a double angle, weighing both the Peruvian and the U.S. perspectives. My U.S. friends are shocked at what happened to Lola. Can’t you sue someone, the parks commission, one Miami friend asked? My Peruvian friends are saddened, but even those whose animals have died from veneno accept the deaths as unavoidable. This is what happens in Peru, they tell me. It is very sad, but what can you do? Get another dog.

This passive attitude frustrates and infuriates me, but I recognize that it’s borne of Peruvians’ experience with their country’s legal system, which is weak and ineffective compared to legal systems in the U.S. and Europe.  The U.N. Development Programme characterizes Peru’s  public defenders system as “unable to meet the country’s needs due to understaffing, low salaries and an inadequate infrastructure.” Moreover, the country’s 20-year-long civil war has made Peruvians wary of legal institutions in general, as The Advocates for Human Rights observes:

The aftereffects of twenty years of political violence, between 1980 and 2000, left imprints on the Peruvian legal system. After so many years of political violence and state repression Peruvian society has experienced a general loss of confidence in state institutions. Insurgency, violence and emergency legislation all hindered Congress’ ability to pass legislation that would impact significant sectors of the population. Other factors that have influenced the judicial system are Peru’s informal economy and society’s mistrust, in general, of the judicial system and lawyers. This overall mistrust stems from serious problems within the judicial system itself. Typically there are delays of five years before delivering a verdict.

Given that Peru’s legal system can barely cope with human-rights violations, how prepared is such a system to protect the welfare of domestic animals? As I’ve observed first-hand, it is little prepared.

Despite this obstacle, Peru can and must make animal welfare a national concern. Many Peruvians love animals and are raising their voices against centuries-long practices like bullfighting and cock fighting (both of which are protected as “cultural patrimony” under current Peruvian law). Curiously, I haven’t heard or read much about protests against animal poisoning, a practice that affects far more Limeño families than does bullfighting, which takes place over four weekends in October and November at Plaza de Acho, and entails the ritual killing of 24 to 30 bulls each season.

A notable exception to the media silence about animal poisonings was yesterday’s news on RPP and other Peruvian news outlets that 250 doves had been poisoned in four parks in the Rimac area of Lima.

Neighbors were incensed about the genocide, which left hundreds of dead birds in parks and on rooftops, RPP reporters noted:

Rimac neighbors are outraged after about 250 pigeons were apparently killed in four parks in the area of Florida. According to information from people who live in the area, unscrupulous people threw poison into the birds’ water.

As if this were not enough, another group of dead birds were found on the rooftops of several houses nearby. “It is almost a collective crime that has been committed against these defenseless animals. The kids are sad about what happened,” said one neighbor.

Out of fear that the carcasses spread pests or diseases, the neighbors called elected authorities to clean up the area and to collect the decomposing pigeons.

I find the neighbor’s quote quite intriguing: “it is almost a collective crime” (italics mine). The syntax suggests recognition that the mass killings are so reprehensible, they constitute an offense — but not one that is recognized as such by Peruvian law. And yet, by linking the action to the word crime, it appears that some Peruvians are seeking a new definition of what constitutes a punishable offense.

It’s tempting to wonder if such a growth in consciousness, although small and localized, might reflect ripples from the ground-breaking April ’09 verdict in the Fujimori trial.  The former Peruvian president was convicted of human rights violations and received a 25-year prison sentence for his role in mass killings and kidnappings by the Grupo Colina death squad in the 1990s. Fujimori was “specifically found guilty of murder, bodily harm, and two cases of kidnapping,” notes Wikipedia.

As Peru begins to acknowledge, prosecute and redress human-rights abuses, the country may become more sensitive to the welfare of animals. It’s an evolution in consciousness that I and others in Peru greatly hope for.

Update, Aug. 1: RPP is now reporting that between 300 and 400 pigeons died from the mass poisoning. http://www.rpp.com.pe/2009-07-31-mueren-envenenadas-mas-de-250-palomas-en-el-rimac-noticia_198262.html Many other birds (nonpigeons) drank the poisoned water and died as well. The bodies of the dead birds are lying in the streets, where they can be eaten by dogs and cats and thus transfer the poison to other animals. Also think of the threat to the children who play in the four parks. Little fingers trailing in the tainted water.

I am an American writer who lived in Lima for seven years (2007-2014), where I covered Andean traditions, melting glaciers and daily life in the capital for Miami Herald, MSNBC and Huffington Post. I now live and work in northern Florida where I champion climate change advocacy and compassionate, affordable eldercare.

14 Comments

  • Amazilia

    I agree in general with your assessment that the poisoning of domestic animals is a problem in Peru, we loss 3 of my family pets in that way, probably due to the municipal “efforts” to get rid of stray dogs and our last one that we never let out the house was poisoned by the burglars that robbed my house weeks after.
    There are added problems because the poison used usually is too strong and dangerous for people, as many cases of accidental deaths and suicides in the rural areas tell us. Usually these chemicals are banned in USA but the industries there still produce them for exportation to our countries which have not strong environmental regulations.
    But I don´t agree with your portrait of Americans as morally superior in the care of animals, cruelty toward animals and lack of recognition that they are sentient beings that share our planet is widespread in all the world. I found very cruel how Americans have pets like humans denying them to be what they are, It seems because they don’t want or they can interact with other humans or are selfish and children are too expensive they substitute with dogs or cats who almost never interact with other individuals of their species and are kept in small apartments. And tell an American not to buy a SUV to save entire ecosystems in the Arctic or the tropics and you will see how much they care about life in our planet.

  • Barb

    Yes, some Americans have an psychologically unhealthy relationship with their pets and treat them like human babies. That bugs me too. I wouldn’t put that behavior on a par with poisoning pets, however.

  • Camila

    It’s an infuriating attitude but it really goes beyond the structure of the legal system. Peru never had the social activism the US had in the sixties. The parallel we had with the Farmer’s revolution was really an initiative from the government. That alone makes such a difference.

    Luckily realities are not static and just like we know many peruvian who do care about animals and rights and laws in general, a change of mentality is possible but it has to come from education.

    I remember once we had an initiative of going to speak to different primary schools all around Lima. We spoke about many topics and kids were really receptive and I would say we make an impact somehow. Maybe one of the groups that are already advocating for animal rights would be willing to take this idea and implement it? I think it would be fun and enriching for both parts.

  • M. Isabel

    OMG Barbara, you have a dog called Lola??!!? My dog is called Lola too!!! Despite being a lab mix, she is in fact my elder daughter and I adore her.

    She was poisoned too when she was a year old, but we could get help for her and recovered nicely, thank God…

  • Barb

    M Isabel, what a coincidene — two poisoned Lab Lolas. I find the Lab mixes to be very similar to full Labs, BTW — they seem to have the same friendly temperament and are often athletic and love water.

    Does your Lola jump in puddles and fountains? Our Lola can’t stay away from them. She also swims in the ocean when we bring her.:)

    Camila — good ideas about the schools. It’s a project that so many people can get behind because most people love pets and it’s not a political thing.

  • Danielito

    I found many recent news about pet poisoning in the US. You can check them out below. The fact that you haven’t heard of any case does not mean they don’t exist in the US.

    abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/bizarre&id=6926543

    mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2009/07/grandville_man_pleads_guilty_t.html

    kmox.com/pages/4259010.php?

    blueridgenow.com/article/20090724/NEWS/907249985/1017/OPINION02?Title=Where-s-justice-for-dog-shooter-

    wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa090713_mo_poisoned.3961d1ab.html

    kauz.com/news/local/50148022.html

    wsls.com/sls/news/local/southside/article/patrick_county_deputies_investigate_dog_poisoning/27511/

    cbs12.com/news/bear-4714759-skel-anti.html

  • Danielito

    And I really don’t think that what Fujimori did had to do with anything about people being concerned. People have always been concerned about pets in this country and they love them. Some cases will not make this a general statement for everyone in Peru.

    With regards of the doves, we are all shocked about this news, since this has never happened in Peru, I was talking with a lot of friends about it, and we agree that only an insane person could have done this. People in Rimac and the historic Centre of Lima protect the doves, since they are part of the patrimony of the area since Colonial Times.

  • Ramon

    Danielito,

    As you can see in many of the links you have posted, animal cruelty may happen in the US and elsewhere, but is not socially acceptable and will often result in prosecution. There was the case of a famous NFL American Football player, Michael Vick, who ran dog fights and went to jail for it!

    Could you imagine anyone in Perú going to jail for a similar offense?

    Bad things happen everywhere, but it’s how we deal with those bad things that makes the difference. It’s the general attitude towards the offenders that needs to change in Perú. Did you read the comment that “caballero” made on the RPP article link?

  • Daniel

    Ramon,

    I have taken my time to read all those recent news I posted as well as many others a bit far behind and so on. There have been many cases where people have been left behind, and really justice did not occur. But, the US mainstream media will probably never show it on the news as in Peru, since they are more worried about famous people (like Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, etc) and things that are really not important, etc. At least in Peru you can hear about it.

    And here in Peru many people do not consider socially acceptable to poison dogs. In fact, many people would be sadden and upset if their dogs die from poisoning. And, many cases in Peru have had prosecution thanks to ASPPA Peru. I’d suggest you visit their link here

    http://www.asppaperu.org/noticias/index.1.html

  • Tun

    I don’t want you to think that his comment is born out of “love” for peru, or national pride. I left Peru at 11 and it’s been years since I’ve been back. These past years I’ve lived in the US, so I get how you feel about living in a country different of your own. But there’s a difference between you and me, although I’m obviously younger than you I’ve learned that when it comes to expressing my opinions about a country that isn’t my own there’s a right way to do it. I applaud you for standing up to what you think is wrong and denouncing what’s bad, but there’s a right way to do it. What I’ve learned from americans is that the only way they’ll accept criticism from a foreigner is to do it delicately, basically, the topic has to be treated as if with tweezers.

    How can you not expect people to react bad when you’re saying things such as “I cannot stress enough how appalled I am at how routinely pets are poisoned in this country and, no, this situation is not the norm in the United States, as a couple of Peruvians who’ve left comments have blithely asserted.”

  • Barb

    There is no way to politely say the truth about pet poisonings in Peru: they are hateful, dispicable acts, and the fact that the perpetrators are not held culpable says worlds about Peru’s commitment to humane treatment of animals. Every country, including the United States, needs to strive for better treatment of animals and those of us who walk on two legs, when we hear of our four-legged friends being killed, ought to respond with outrage and candor, not mince about with “tweezers.”

    It is up to Peruvians to demand that dog and cat poisoners be held accountable by the law, as they are in European countries and the United States. This is what I hope for Peru because until the day that such laws are enacted and enforced, any dog or cat is vulnerable to being killed by a spiteful neighbor or stranger.

    Just to update those who care about abuse of animals in Peru: Recently Salomon Lerner Febres, the philosopher who ran Peru’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, lost two of his dogs to veneno. Salomon Learner has received many death threats over the years, and his two Labradors were poisoned and killed by people who warned that he faced the same treatment.

    Were these people charged with any criminal act? No.

    Should they have? Yes.

    Story here: http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=2630