STAFF REPORTER
PALMA'S Mayor, Aina Calvo has refused to meet with 32 Mayors of outlying areas of Majorca who are seeking to find a solution to how the contentious issue of stray and abandoned animals on the island should be handled.
As of next year, Palma's Mayor will no longer permit that municipalities of over 15'000 inhabitants can use use the dog pound facilities at Son Reus, meaning that areas falling into this category will have to find alternative shelter for their own strays. Municipalities of less than 15'000 will have to find temporary shelter for abandoned animals for a week whilst an attempt is made to track down the owners. Failure to locate them will mean that Son Reus will then accept the strays, but only those who are chipped.
The Mayor has said that her counterparts from other parts of the island should instead meet with Health Councillor Begoña Sanchez, but this alternative has not been accepted by the delegation who are now pushing for a meeting with Francina Armengol, the President of the Council of Majorca. Calvo has come under criticism from the opposition Partido Popular who have said that the Mayor should receive the delegation as a matter of institutional courtesy. The move by the mayors of outlying municipalities follows on from a meeting that was held in Marratxi earlier this month to form a united front on solving the problem of abandoned animals.