Panajachel, Guatemala -- On March 11th and 12th of 2007, this mountain village of 25,000 people situated on Lake Atitlan was the site of an important free clinic. More than 100 animals received professional medical treatment, with the vast majority being spayed and neutered.
In addition to family pets, a number of the area’s many homeless animals were also treated. Through the altering surgeries of these street animals, local activists and residents have declared a milestone success: the halting of an annual death squad.
Semana Santa, the national holiday week between Palm Sunday and Easter, enables the highest annual concentration of Lake Atitlan visitors. Panajachel (pah-nah-hah-shell) is one of 12 lakeside villages. It receives the greatest portion of the vacationers as it is the largest and most abundant in facilities.
In past years, widespread and random poisoning of animals has occurred in the Atitlan villages during the week preceding Semana Santa. This extreme practice was put into operation as a means of providing more sanitary conditions. Nocturnal raids on voluminous stacks of garbage bags during the holiday week have been believed best controlled by attempting to reduce the population of suspected perpetrators.
Strychnine-laced meat has been tossed into the streets and areas frequented for food. As the dead bodies are hauled away to remote disposal sites, it is not uncommon to discover family pets victimized alongside street animals.
Due to the knowledge that some street dogs were altered in the clinic, a “wait and see” attitude by those responsible for the poisonings now exists. This year there will be no poison campaign prior to Semana Santa.
Religious practices by the indigenous Mayan people include the belief that all living things have a soul. Shy and wandering animals enjoying sidewalk siestas significantly add to the colorful and friendly culture of their villages, and send messages of peace and harmony to visitors.
However, with poverty being predominant, spaying and neutering is a luxury that is typically not within means; especially for pets with caring families wishing to do otherwise. Throughout the Atitlan region, many more clinics like this one are necessary to prevent future poisonings and reduce the population of the homeless.
Professional services for the clinic were provided by volunteer members of Remote Area Medical (
http://www.ramusa.org/ramf.html ).
Sponsorship was provided by Mayan Families (
http://mayanfamilies.org/) in partnership with AWARE (
http://animalaware.org/).
Additional support and volunteers came from Kaslem Mandala Environmental Education and Youth Leadership Program (
http://www.livezone.com/maya/), as well as caring local residents.
Additional photographs and a slideshow of the clinic are available at
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/hwb0415/album/576460762393159711 .