Supporters present legal petition to rescue Chaitén pets

SANTIAGO.- After turning to authorities for help and launching an intense media campaign did not yield results, animal rights groups have decided to resort to the legal route today in order to obtain authorization to enter Chaitén and rescue the close to 600 pets that remain in the town without their owners and without food or water.

The petition will be presented at noon today at the Puerto Montt Court of Appeals by attorney Pablo Peñaloza of the Coalition for Ethical Control of Urban Fauna (CEFU) (the entity sponsoring the action) and will be filed on behalf of the owners of the animals.  After the presentation, the court could issue an injunction within two hours.

The chief director of the CEFU, Alejandra Cassino, told EMOL that, for now, “we are asking the people in shelters to sign the petition so that it holds up better in court”.

Cassino criticized what she considers to be “discrimination” towards the evacuees because “salmon producers and other entities have been allowed to reenter the danger zone to rescue their possessions”.