Animals' Angels is continuing its work for the animals in Chiquinquirá. Since April 2019 the animals have been traded on the local market without official permission. Since then, the community no longer meets the requirements of the Colombian authorities.
The mayor of the municipality has begun to address the problem, but the situation is complicated: The infrastructure is inadequate, the trade in animals has increased, and at the same time the municipality has grown so much that the market is now surrounded by residential areas. The municipality therefore wants to relocate the market. While this process is underway, we want to know what is happening with the animals at the current market location. During our first visit this year, we document that the problems of 2019 continue - even worse: there is no water, most of the pens are in poor condition and there are no veterinarians present. Nobody here cares about the welfare of the animals.
On February 27th we meet with the responsible municipal council for a six-hour meeting, which is going very well. We make it clear that the trade at the market place will continue until the relocation and make recommendations on how to improve the conditions for the animals until then. Most council members express their support for our project and their sympathy for the animals. The participants assure that the animals must also be included in the community development plan.
