In recent weeks the protection and care of animals has generated concern and debate, mainly reflected in social networks.

During the Popular Consultation process for the creation of the new Constitution of the Republic, multiple opinions were generated regarding the protection and care of animals. From this, and as an expression of that popular will, the obligation of the State in the protection and conservation of a healthy environment was reinforced, which includes responsibility for the care and welfare of animals in their direct relationship with people . The Magna Carta also reflected in its article 90 subsection j, that among the duties of every Cuban citizen, is to protect wildlife and ensure the conservation of a healthy environment.
Following this mandate, the country is currently working on the development of legal provisions aimed at guaranteeing the welfare of animals. The Terrestrial Animal Health Code, approved by the World Organization for Animal Health, designates welfare as the physical and mental state of an animal in relation to the conditions in which it lives and dies. The animal experiences a good well-being if it is healthy, comfortable, well fed, safe, and if it does not suffer unpleasant sensations such as pain, fear or restlessness and is able to express important behaviors for its state of physical and mental well-being. The normative provisions that are currently being worked on in Cuba will accept, as essences and premises, such formulations.
It is necessary to take into account, in the same way, that according to the World Health Organization, currently 75 percent of emerging pathogens that affect humans are of animal origin. Twenty thousand people are injured by animals every year in the country, of which 80 percent are caused by dogs. In Cuba there is a program of surveillance, prevention and control of these diseases, which has allowed maintaining low morbidity rates associated with rabies, leptospirosis, toxoplasmosis, among others.
The health of the environment will continue to be a state priority, and it includes animal welfare. In a society like ours, the center is man and the guarantees for his individual and collective development; This will continue to achieve a harmonious relationship with the environment and each of the components that comprise it.
Ministry of Agriculture
Taken from: http://www.minag.gob.cu/node/2071