Revista Científica y Arbitrada de Ciencias Sociales y Trabajo Social ‘‘Tejedora’’: Vol. 4 (Núm. 7) (ene-jun 2021). ISSN: 2697-3626

Violation of the rights of animals abandoned in street situation

VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANIMALS ABANDONED IN STREET SITUATION

VULNERACIÓN DE DERECHOS DE LOS ANIMALES ABANDONADOS EN SITUACIÓN CALLE

Garzón-Rosero Lourdes Edith ¹

2

Chávez-Intriago Mariela Yesenia

1

Trabajadora Social. Manta, Ecuador. lourdesgr8735@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0773-

4

520

2

Psicóloga Clínica, Universidad Laica Eloy Alfaro de Manabí. Manta, Ecuador. marielayes@hotmail.es

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2893-1686

ABSTRACT:

The present study aims to determine the public's knowledge about the rights of the animals covered by the legal

norms by force in Ecuador. During the research, interviews will be used with people who have knowledge of

territorial regulations and people who in their daily work have experience in saving lives and rescuing animals from

serious situations. A mixed and bibliographic methodology of descriptive type was used. Tools were used for the

gathering of the information like the interview, online survey to the citizenship where it was obtained as results that

the youngest people have greater knowledge and conscience about the rights of the animals, having more care and

empathy with the abandoned animals. In addition, there is a lack of knowledge among the elderly about the legal

norms in favor of nature and animals, where animal rights are substantiated in the Constitution of the Republic of

Ecuador and the penalties are stipulated in the Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code, which is applied at the

national level, and Municipal Ordinance No. 10 of the GAD-Manta, it is also known that the causes and consequences

that cause the abandonment of animals are unwanted litters, irresponsible people who have pets but do not care

about their integral or reproductive health, it also influences the economic issue because some do not have as

maintain them.

Keywords: Violation of rights, Animal abandonment, Animal mistreatment, Rights of the animals.

RESUMEN:

El presente estudio tiene como objetivo determinar el conocimiento de la ciudadanía sobre los derechos de los

animales amparados en las normas legales vigentes en el Ecuador. Para lo cual durante el desarrollo investigativo se

utilizó entrevistas aplicadas a personas quienes tienen conocimiento en normativa territorial, y personas que en su

labor diaria tienen experiencias permitiéndoles salvar vidas y rescatando a animales de situaciones graves. Se

empleó una metodología de tipo mixta y bibliográfica de tipo descriptiva, se utilizó herramientas para el

levantamiento de la información como la entrevista, encuesta online a la ciudadanía donde se obtuvo como

resultados que las personas más jóvenes tienen mayor conocimiento y conciencia acerca de los derechos de los

animales, teniendo más cuidado y empatía con los animales abandonados, además existe un desconocimiento de

las personas mayores sobre las normas legales a favor de la naturaleza y de los animales, donde los derechos de los

animales están sustanciados en la Constitución de la República del Ecuador, y las penas se encuentran estipuladas

en el Código Orgánico Integral Penal, que se aplican a nivel nacional y la Ordenanza Municipal No. 10 del GAD-Manta,

además se conoce que las causas y consecuencias que ocasionan el abandono de los animales es las camadas no

deseadas, personas irresponsables que tienen mascotas, pero no se preocupan de su salud integral ni reproductiva,

también influye el tema económico ya que algunas no tienen como mantenerlas..

Palabras clave: Violación de derechos, Abandono de animales, Maltrato animal, Derechos de los animales.

157

Recibido: 28 de septiembre de 2020; Aceptado: 04 de enero de 2021; Publicado: 08 de enero de 2021.

Revista Científica y Arbitrada de Ciencias Sociales y Trabajo Social ‘‘Tejedora’’: Vol. 4 (Núm. 7) (ene-jun 2021). ISSN: 2697-3626

Garzón-Rosero & Chávez-Intriago (2021)

1

. INTRODUCTION

The lack of knowledge about animal rights by

coexistence of the protection of the urban

fauna of the canton Manta, where their

rights are recognized” (Intriago, 2019).

the citizens is the problem, adding to this the

ignorance of legal norms that protect them,

adding the lack of sensitivity.

In this ordinance it is ordered the

According to the United Nations (2015),

which talks about the rights of animals in its

objectives for 2030, it has been presented its

objectives of sustainable development,

among which for the first time there is a

relevant position to animal protection. Obj.

surveillance,

commercialization,

transport respecting the principles of animal

welfare, promoting the harmonic

possession,

breeding,

reproduction

and

coexistence and responsible possession of

pets.

1

5: Life of terrestrial ecosystems. “On June

Furthermore, to investigate and promote

complaints from citizens about cases of

abuse in the jurisdiction and apply the

sanctions established in the regulation.

2

1, 2018, the United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP), in partnership with

Mars and FINCH announced the creation of

the fund “The Lion´s Share””, an initiative

aimed at transforming the lives of animals

around the world by asking communications

companies to contribute a percentage of

Acting officially in these situations of

violation of rights and alteration of the

welfare of urban fauna, promoting citizen

participation to spread the culture of

ownership and protection of animals. (Del

Pozo, 2017)

their

media

investment

to

the

implementation of animal conservation and

welfare projects.

In a study conducted by Chible (2016), he

states that he focuses on analyzing “the

Brazilian legal system with the interest of

establishing a new legal framework for

animals, proposing vulnerability as a basis

for changing the legal status of animals” (p.

The

Decentralized

Autonomous

Governments in Ecuador have municipal

ordinances that seek to protect, watch over

the welfare and care for animals. "The

illustrious Municipality of the city of Manta

dictated the Ordinance N°. 10 of control,

2

17). Thus, despite the considerations made,

responsible

possession,

harmonic

158

Revista Científica y Arbitrada de Ciencias Sociales y Trabajo Social ‘‘Tejedora’’: Vol. 4 (Núm. 7) (ene-jun 2021). ISSN: 2697-3626

Violation of the rights of animals abandoned in street situation

it is important for all those interested in

directly towards them or organizing

clandestine fights for profit.

knowing a new proposal for the foundation

of animal rights that has its support in the

thinking of Brazilian Bioethics from the

perspective that consolidates the protection

of animal rights.

It is necessary that the citizens know and

recognize the rights of the animals, plus the

legal norms that protect them as subjects of

rights, as well as the consequences of their

acts that can be punished.

In this applied study, knowledge of animal

rights is promoted and Ordinance No. 10 of

GAD-Manta is strengthened for its

application and execution, encouraging

citizens to register their pets, opting for

animal sterilization to avoid unwanted

litters, encouraging the rescue and adoption

of abandoned animals that are in the street,

focusing on animal rights and legal

regulations in their environment.

In view of the above, the general objective of

the research is:

Determining the knowledge of people about

the rights that animals have under the laws

of Ecuador, however, the following problem

is formulated: ¿How does the knowledge of

people about the rights that animals have

under the protection of the legal norms of

Ecuador influence?

Therefore, if the ignorance continues it will

trigger a serious problem of public health

since the animals that are in street situation

can develop diseases of malnutrition,

dehydration, becoming a focus of infections

and transmitter of diseases to vulnerable

groups (people), only because of the

unawareness of the rights and the legal

norms that protects the animals. Adding to

this is the apathy of people who treat them

cruelly, either by obtaining the puppies for

commercialization, carrying out aggressions

2

. METHODOLOGY

The investigation of the subject: Violation of

the rights of abandoned animals in street

situation in the city of Manta year 2019 -

2

020, was carried out under a type of mixed

investigation since tools such as interviews

were used from the qualitative cut, that was

made to the Director of the Department of

Environment of the GAD-Manta Engineer

Ivan Murillo who has knowledge of the

subject within the jurisdiction, as well as to

159

Revista Científica y Arbitrada de Ciencias Sociales y Trabajo Social ‘‘Tejedora’’: Vol. 4 (Núm. 7) (ene-jun 2021). ISSN: 2697-3626

Garzón-Rosero & Chávez-Intriago (2021)

people who direct institutions and are

dedicated to this praiseworthy work, also

surveys were made on-line to the citizenship

where a statistic was obtained that was

applied in a quantitative way.

similarly, the use of the SPSS program was

applied, which allowed an analysis of the

study variables through correlation data that

allowed the tabulation of the information

obtained.

Simple probabilistic formulas were used,

which were applied in social network groups

where people between the ages of 18 and 65

participated.

3

. RESULTS

It was possible to demonstrate on the basis

of the specific objective No. 1 To know the

existing legal norms in Ecuador that protect

the rights of the animals. This was verified

based on the information gathered in the

surveys and interviews, where the following

is verified in Chart 1.

To determine the population we took data

from the Census of Population and Housing

2

010, which is within the city of Manta a

total of 181,769 people, which when

applying the probabilistic formula gave a

result of 383 people who were surveyed, so

we obtained the statistics, taking into

consideration people who collaborate with

animal rescue organizations, these were

three people dedicated to the rescue and

care of abandoned animals, thus

establishing the participatory action.

Chart 1. Existing legal norms in Ecuador that

protect the rights of animals.

Age

A lot

41,4%

,0%

Little

58,6%

100,0%

40,5%

74,7%

Nothing

,0%

59,5%

11,5%

18 to 25

26 to 35

6 to 45

3

Over 45

TOTAL

13,8%

It can be seen that there is 100% of people

surveyed between the ages of 26 and 45

years who claim to know little about the

existing legal norms in Ecuador, which

protect the rights of animals, while 59.5%

over 45 years claim to know nothing, 58.6%

between 18 and 25 years claim to know little

In the development of this research, the

following materials were used: legal norms

in force in Ecuador, interviews with

professionals such as

a

zootechnical

veterinarian, a GAD-Manta public official

and two people who are dedicated to the

rescue, care and protection of animals,

160

Revista Científica y Arbitrada de Ciencias Sociales y Trabajo Social ‘‘Tejedora’’: Vol. 4 (Núm. 7) (ene-jun 2021). ISSN: 2697-3626

Violation of the rights of animals abandoned in street situation

and finally 41.4% of people between 18 and

5 years claim to know a lot.

Chart 2. Causes and consequences that cause

the abandonment of animals.

2

Question No. 3 of the interview: Do you

know what rights animals have under

Ecuadorian law?

The mascot is too

1

8

8,0%

0%

much work

Irresponsible

people

However, the owner of Gustavo's shelter

says that he knows the rights of the animals,

claiming that there are many regulations

that the law has, but in practice they do not

work. He mentions that he likes to update

himself and read about laws and regulations,

but there is no will to apply them as

rigorously as they should be, added to this is

the society that is evolving without

education.

2,0%

0%

100%

0%

52,3%

32,6%

0%

Lack of time

Irresponsible

breeders, trying to

make money

Having a baby, so

they no longer

want an animal in

the house

Change of address

Loss of interest for

the pet

Unwanted litters

Disregard for

animal health and

hygiene

Not having the

resources to feed

it

Having to travel or

move

unexpectedly

Animal disease

and lack of

0%

9,3%

0%

5,8%

1,4%

0%

5,4%

14,9%

21,6%

0%

12,2%

21,6%

8,1%

In the same way, in the interview with a

veterinarian, he affirms that the laws are

fine, but they are not applied, they remain

only on paper, the authorities do not enforce

those laws, and people continue to do what

they want with the animals.

0%

14,9%

economic

resources

TOTAL

33,4%

24,8% 22,6% 19,3%

It can be observed that 100% of people

surveyed between the ages of 26 and 35

years old that affirm one of the causes of

animal abandonment, are irresponsible

people, in the same way 82% between the

ages of 18 and 25 years old, 52.3% between

the ages of 36 and 45 years old respond in

the same way, however 21%. 6% affirm that

It was possible to verify on the basis of the

specific objective No. 2 To identify the

causes and consequences that cause the

abandonment of the animals. The same that

can be related based on chart 2 and 3.

161

Revista Científica y Arbitrada de Ciencias Sociales y Trabajo Social ‘‘Tejedora’’: Vol. 4 (Núm. 7) (ene-jun 2021). ISSN: 2697-3626

Garzón-Rosero & Chávez-Intriago (2021)

the abandonment is for having unwanted

litters, 21.6% in ages of more than 45 years

make reference that they affirm that

another cause and consequence is not

having the resources to feed them, 18% in

ages of 18 to 25 years affirm that another

cause of the abandonment is due to the fact

that the pets demand a lot of work or time.

they state that there are innumerable

reasons that can cause abandonment and

mistreatment, and that it is normal to hear

phrases like “they are going on a trip”, “they

have no economic possibilities”, “I have no

one to leave them with”, and they are

abandoned to their fate, in the same way the

economic

limitation

causes

the

abandonment, likewise, the lack of

education in the formation of the people

from their childhood increases factors that

can cause the animal mistreatment, this

creates that people with a null empathy are

developed, creating also a macho and

violent society.

Chart 3. Causes of animal abuse.

1

2

3

8 to 25

years

6 to 35

years

6 to 45

years

Over 45

years

7

7,3%

22,7%

100,0%

,0%

,

0%

It is necessary to establish the relationship in

the study and verification of the specific

objective No. 3 To analyze the compliance of

the legal norms that protect the rights that

are in a situation of abandonment. This is

listed in chart 4 below.

45,9%

54,1%

TOTAL

25,8%

63,7%

10,4%

Chart 3 shows that 100% of people surveyed

between the ages of 26 and 45 say that one

of the causes of animal abuse is due to

cruelty, while 77.3% between the ages of 18

and 25 say that another cause is for fun, and

finally 54.1% over the age of 45 say that

another cause of animal abuse may be due

to lack of knowledge.

Chart 4. The authorities on duty comply with the

legal regime for the protection and protection of

animals.

As for the interviews applied to people

involved in the environment of the topic,

18 to 25

years

1

4,8% 37,5% 47,7%

,0%

1

62

Revista Científica y Arbitrada de Ciencias Sociales y Trabajo Social ‘‘Tejedora’’: Vol. 4 (Núm. 7) (ene-jun 2021). ISSN: 2697-3626

Violation of the rights of animals abandoned in street situation

2

6 to 35

years

animals must be rigidly applied to those who

,

0%

,0%

97,9% 2,1%

,0%

36 to 45

years

are in a situation of abandonment, but it is

also necessary that a study of the law be

made and that the reforms be with strong

sanctions, since the right to life does not

have distinctions between human and

animal life.

,0%

100%

Over 45

years

TOTAL

40,5% 59,5%

5,0%

12,5% 40,2% 30,8% 11,5%

It can be seen that 100% of the people

surveyed between the ages of 36 and 45

years affirm that the authorities on duty

rarely comply with the legal regime of

protection and protection of animals, while

4

. DISCUSSION

It was evident that within the existing legal

norms in Ecuador that protect the rights of

animals, the people surveyed between the

ages of 26 and 45 know little about the laws,

as well as the people surveyed between the

ages of 18 and 25 know a lot about the legal

norms that protect animals, nevertheless in

the interviews applied to people in the

environment in care and protection of

animals they mention that there are many

regulations that the law has, but in practice

they do not work, it is not applied, they

remain only on paper, the authorities do not

enforce these laws, and people continue

doing what they want with the animals.

9

7.9% between the ages of 26 and 35 years

affirm that occasionally the authorities on

duty comply with the legal regime, 59.5%

affirm that never in ages over 45 years, while

4

7.7% between the ages of 18 and 25 years

affirm that occasionally the authorities on

duty comply with the legal regime of

protection of animals.

As for the interviews applied to professionals

such as: Dr. Yandry Moran - Veterinarian

Zootechnician and Engineer Ivan Murillo -

Official of GAD-Manta who work in attention

and care of the animals, as well as Jefferson

Ortiz - owner of Fundación Esperanza

Canina, and Attorney Edwin Rodriguez -

owner of El Refugio de Gustavo who are

immersed in the work of rescue, shelter,

protection, and care of animals affirm that

the legal norms that protect the rights of

As for the COIP (2014) and the GAD-Manta

(MANTA, 2019), within an Ordinance it

recognizes animals as subjects of rights and

sentient beings in need of protection.

163

Revista Científica y Arbitrada de Ciencias Sociales y Trabajo Social ‘‘Tejedora’’: Vol. 4 (Núm. 7) (ene-jun 2021). ISSN: 2697-3626

Garzón-Rosero & Chávez-Intriago (2021)

It is evident that it is necessary to continue

inducing the knowledge of the legal norms to

the citizenship, this can be by means of the

direct use of the social networks, or publicity

in fences, where they stipulate the laws on

the serious faults caused to the animals, and

this way to increase the knowledge and to

raise awareness on the animal mistreatment

that at the present time has become a very

relevant subject for the society.

There are several questions that cause the

abandonment of animals, this is generated

due to the lack of awareness of people, in

terms of care and responsibility, however

referring to abandoned animals, they also

receive mistreatment by people.

As far as the compliance with the legal

norms that protect the rights of the animals

that are in situation of abandonment, in the

result of the surveys it is evident that rarely

or occasionally the authorities of turn

comply with the legal regime of protection

and shelter of the animals, nevertheless in

the interview to professionals they affirm

that it is necessary to apply rigidly the legal

norms that protect the rights of the animals

that are in situation of abandonment, but

also it is necessary that a study of the law is

made and that the reforms are with strong

sanctions, since the right to the life does not

have distinctions between the human and

the life of an animal.

In terms of identifying the causes and

consequences that cause the abandonment

of animals, the people surveyed say that the

causes are due to irresponsible people,

unwanted litters, not having the resources

to feed them, the pets demand a lot of work

or time, and even many people perform the

action of abandonment or abuse for cruelty,

fun or lack of knowledge.

As for what Pablo De Damborenea (2019)

states, that among the causes that generate

animal abandonment is the lack of

awareness of the population, this results in

the absence of rules that determine

dignified conditions in which they are

developed, likewise the main cause of

animal abandonment continues to be

unwanted litters.

As for the new reforms of the COIP,

published on June 21, 2020, they take into

account the mistreatment of animals and

the abandonment that are considered

contraventions and those who commit them

must comply with community work hours, as

in Art. 250.3 indicates that the person who

164

Revista Científica y Arbitrada de Ciencias Sociales y Trabajo Social ‘‘Tejedora’’: Vol. 4 (Núm. 7) (ene-jun 2021). ISSN: 2697-3626

Violation of the rights of animals abandoned in street situation

abandons an animal will be sanctioned with

years or more have little knowledge about

the rights that protect the animals, this by

the lack of education, because previously the

issue of rights was not important and there

were no laws that protect the animals.

community work from twenty to fifty hours,

as well as Art. 250.4 indicates that whoever

by action or omission causes temporary

damage, seriously deteriorates the health or

physical integrity of an animal, without

causing death will be sanctioned with

community work from fifty to one hundred

hours.

With respect to the first specific objective, it

is indicated that animal rights are

substantiated in the Constitution of the

Republic of Ecuador, and the penalties are

stipulated in the Comprehensive Organic

Penal Code, which is applied at the national

level, and Municipal Ordinance No. 10 of the

GAD-Manta, which governs at the local level,

and the penalties are aligned with the COIP.

It is necessary to reinforce the knowledge to

the general population about the rights of

animals, where it is necessary to raise

awareness about the defense and the rights

of the animals, having to recognize that the

animals have as much rights as a human

being with the simple fact of having life,

changes that could eliminate the animal

mistreatment and guarantee that people

think carefully, and thus create conscience

about the defense of the rights of the

animals.

The causes and consequences that cause the

abandonment of the animals are the

unwanted litters, irresponsible people who

have pets, but do not care about their overall

health or breeding, the economic issue also

influences as some do not know how to

maintain them and the lack of time of the

owners to devote to their animals.

5

. CONCLUSIONS

The penalties regulated in the current law

are very light, but even so, people who

commit the violation of the right to animals

are not sanctioned, nor are the abusers

punished, because the authorities do not file

the complaints before the multicompetent

It was possible to know based on the

induction and verification of the general

objective, that younger people have greater

knowledge and awareness about animal

rights, having more care and empathy with

abandoned animals, however people of 45

165

Revista Científica y Arbitrada de Ciencias Sociales y Trabajo Social ‘‘Tejedora’’: Vol. 4 (Núm. 7) (ene-jun 2021). ISSN: 2697-3626

Garzón-Rosero & Chávez-Intriago (2021)

courts and there is no known sentence with

respect to the violation of the rights of these

active subjects of rights, at a national or local

level.

Derecho. Ius et Praxis vol.22 no.2, pp.

2-96.

8

COIP.

(2014).

Contravención De Maltrato Y Muerte

De Mascotas Animales De

Parágrafo

Único

O

Compañía. Art. 249 – Código

Orgánico Integral Penal. Ecuador:

Código Orgánico Integral Penal.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

To those who contributed with relevant

information for the execution of this

investigation that contributes to the

awareness and sensitization of the

professions of the social area towards the

animals that are in street situation,

generating conscience of the care,

protection and rescue, without leaving aside

the promotion of their rights, as well as the

sanctions that they carry if they commit

damages, injuries or deaths to one of these

living beings, that their only limitation is not

being able to express themselves verbally.

Constitución De La Republica Del Ecuador.

2008). Artículo 3, 71. Quito,

(

Ecuador: Asamblea Nacional.

Del Pozo, B. H. (2017). Código Orgánico Del

Ambiente-

Suplemento 983 de 12-abr.-2017.

Obtained from

Registro

Oficial

https://www.ambiente.gob.ec/wp-

content/uploads/downloads/2018/0

9

/Codigo-Organico-del-

Ambiente.pdf

Favre, D. (2019). Próximos pasos en

Derechos de los Animales. Michigan,

USA: dA. Derecho Animal (Forum of

Animal Law Studies) vol. 10/1.

García, S. M. (2015). El Delito De Maltrato A

Los Animales. El Maltrato Legislativo

A Su Protección. Revista de Bioética y

Derecho, 104-106.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES

Barkibu. (2015). La ONU incluye los derechos

de los animales en sus objetivos para

2

030.

Obtained

from

Herrera, S. B. (2017). Derechos De Los

Animales: La Legislación Nacional

Interna Como Barrera Legal Para El

Reconocimiento De La Subjetividad

Jurídica Animal. España: Vía

Inveniendi et Iudicandi, ISSN-e 1909-

https://blog.barkibu.com/la-onu-

incluye-los-derechos-de-los-

animales-en-sus-objetivos-para-

2

030-2562c9587565

Chible, V. M. (2016). Introducción al Derecho

Animal. Elementos y perspectivas en

el desarrollo de una nueva área del

0

9

528, Vol. 13, Nº. 1, 2018, págs. 55-

4.

166

Revista Científica y Arbitrada de Ciencias Sociales y Trabajo Social ‘‘Tejedora’’: Vol. 4 (Núm. 7) (ene-jun 2021). ISSN: 2697-3626

Violation of the rights of animals abandoned in street situation

Intriago, Q. A. (2019). Ordenanza Municipal

No. 10 ORDENANZA DE CONTROL

TENENCIA RESPONSABLE,

Senplades. (2017). Plan Nacional de

Desarrolllo 2017 - 2021. Obtained

from

CONVIVENCIA ARMONICA DE LA

PROTECCION DE LA FAUNA URBANA

DEL CANTON MANTA. Obtained from

https://manta.gob.ec/db/municipio/

Ordenanzas/2020/ORDENANZA%20

PROTECCI%C3%93N%20FAUNA%20

URBANA%20MANTA.pdf

https://www.planificacion.gob.ec/w

p-

content/uploads/downloads/2017/1

0/PNBV-26-OCT-

FINAL_0K.compressed1.pdf

Morris, C. G., & Maisto, A. A. (2015).

Introducción a la psicología. México:

Pearson.

ONU, O. d. (2015). La ONU incluye los

derechos de los animales en sus

objetivos para 2030. Canadá:

Objetivos para

sostenible ONU.

el desarrollo

Pablo De Damborenea, M. (2019). Derecho y

bienestar en animales de trabajo.

España: DA, Derecho Animal.

Régis, A. H. (2019). Vulnerabilidades como

fundamento para os direitos dos

animais: uma proposta para um novo

enquadramento jurídico. Derecho

Animal (Forum of Animal Law

Studies), pp. 217-220.

Rocha, S. L. (2018). La teoría de los derechos

animales de Tom Regan: Ampliando

las fronteras de la comunidad moral

y de los derechos más allá de lo

humano.

Valencia,

España:

A.Derecho Animal (Forum of Animal

Law Studies) vol. 9/2.

167