Barcelona, July 2016.- Ong ADDA wrote to 137 Catalan city councils of over 8,000 inhabitants, warning them of the need to control the identification of pet population, in compliance with the Catalan Law on the Protection 22/2003, which requires that all pets must be properly registered in their respective municipalities and identified with the chip and plate hung in their collar.

ADDA took this initiative on the occasion of the news appeared in the media, that some municipalities want to identify the DNA of dog droppings in the street, in order to fine dog owners.

ADDA considers it is the obligation of dog owners to pick up their droppings in order to maintain public areas in the best conditions, but city councils are responsible of to act rigorously and to implement appropriate measures to control mandatory identification and responsible pet ownership, as a fundamental and priority issue.

The figures indicate that, currently ,only 30% of abandoned or lost collected by shelters are identified . Until this percentage will not increase to 80/90%, pet abandonments will continue.