As CDD rescue teams save more animals, activists rely on better public understanding

AMMAN — The Civil Defence Department (CDD) has reported 299 animal rescues in 2016, and 367 in 2017 so far.

The animals involved include pets, working and wild animals, according to a CDD officer. 

A leading animal rights advocate has said that CDD rescue teams are key partners in the campaign for animal rights. 

Ghazi Mustafa, country director of the Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad (SPANA) in Jordan said that when there is any reported case of an animal in danger, they immediately contact the CDD for help.

However, people’s awareness and acceptance of animals’ rights is of vital importance to build an animal-friendly environment in the country, according to the activists.

Towards that end, SPANA has established 85 Animal Welfare Clubs across Jordan, and awareness workshops and classes are run in 126 schools across the country. 

“Now, people have a better awareness compared to the past, thanks mainly to social media and the changing ways of human communication,” Mustafa said, whose organisation deals with an average of 20-25 injured animal cases per month.

The Amman-based animal protection organisation was established in 1989, and runs a fixed veterinary clinic centre in Wadi Al Seer, while two mobile clinics reach animals in remote communities. Each year almost 4,000 animals in Jordan are treated, according to SPANA’s website.

Animal abuse is criminalised under the local laws. According to Article 472 of the Penal Code, any person found guilty of causing harm to a domestic animal or pet will be sentenced to up to one week imprisonment and a fine up to JD5. The cases listed in the provision include leaving the animal without feeding and other cases of severe negligence, causing physical harm, like torture, to a pet or a domestic animal or using the animal for work that is above its physical ability, like when the animal is old, weak or injured.