The President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, announced this Saturday the closure of the country’s only pet hospital, which was created with funds from a Bitcoin trust. The Chivo Pets veterinary hospital, opened in February 2022 by the government, will be closed following a case of negligence in which dogs suffered mistreatment and abandonment at a shelter managed by the San Salvador municipality.
“In light of the unfortunate situation experienced by numerous animals at the Ilopango shelter (on the eastern outskirts of San Salvador),” the president announced the decision to “close” on his Facebook page. This veterinary hospital was built with part of approximately 4 million dollars that was registered as “surplus” from a trust for the adoption of Bitcoin.
In addition to Chivo Pets, the president also announced that the state Animal Welfare Institute and the police unit responsible for protecting animals (Polipet) will also be closed due to the same case of negligence. The leader’s decision comes after he claimed to have read more than “8,000” messages on social media where the population complained about the mistreatment and abandonment suffered by dogs in a shelter managed by the East San Salvador municipality.
“It is evident that neither the Animal Welfare Institute (IBA) nor Polipet took the necessary actions to prevent this problem” at the animal shelter, the president stated. “I share the pain felt by the population when seeing these defenseless beings in deplorable conditions,” commented the president. “It is even more outrageous when such suffering is a consequence of the ineptitude of public officials,” he declared.
Finally, Bukele requested all municipalities “to completely transfer the management of all (municipal) animal shelters to organizations specialized in animal welfare.” He will provide them with three million dollars monthly.
