Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda, the governor of Baja California, strengthened laws in the state in order to increase penalties against individuals who abuse animals through the construction of Sanctuary Mily, in Mexicali, which has been 65% completed. In addition, she announced the launch of the National Rabies Vaccination Campaign in the state for cats and dogs.

Marina del Pilar celebrated that, when it comes to laws, the representatives of Baja California recently approved the reform to Article 342 of the Penal Code "where penalties are increased for people who commit animal abuse or cruelty, which could reach from 3 months to 2 years in prison, and fines 200 times the daily value of the current Unidad de Medida y Actualización (UMA), which equals to 20,748 pesos" providing greater certainty to the rights of animals in the state.

The state governor explained that the National Rabies Vaccination Campaign will begin on Sunday, September 24 and it will continue until the last day of the month in order to protect pets' and peoples' health with prevention.

Marina del Pilar emphasized that having domestic pets in our homes implies certain responsibilities as they become another family member; taking care of their health is to protect the lives of all of our loved ones.

For his part, the Secretary of Health, José Adrián Medina Amarillas, explained that thanks to rabies campaigns, where actions are strengthened to protect cats and dogs from this disease, Baja California has had 57 years without a rabies case in humans and 41 years without a rabies case in dogs and cats.

The state official stated that vaccination work is carried out throughout the whole year, however, in massive campaigns, actions are intensified to protect the health of all of the state's pets. Throughout the year, 146,796 rabies vaccines have been given and 14,308 pets have been sterilized for free.

Medina Amarillas highlighted that fixed vaccination spots will be set up in the entire state, which will be distributed strategically so that people can take their pets to get immunized to benefit their families.

At the Health Services Jurisdiction of Mexicali, these fixed spots will be: the Veterinary Center of the Secretariat of Health located in Calle Sur s/n, Col. Bella Vista; the Municipal Center of Animal Control Mexicali at Colonia Colorado; Programa de Zoonosis located at Av. Tamaulipas #770 Col. Esperanza and Clínica de Pequeñas Especies Campos UABC in Rio Presidio.

At the Health Services Jurisdiction of Tijuana, which comprises Playas de Rosarito and Tecate, the spots will be at Centro Antirrábico, Calpulli S/N, Mariano Matamoros, Municipal Animal Control Tijuana in Blvd. Insurgentes S/N, Rio Tijuana 3ra Etapa, Municipal Animal Control Tecate located at Lucio Blanco 21440 de Bella Vista, and Municipal Animal Control Rosarito located at Ejido Morelos s/n.

In addition, at the Health Services Jurisdiction of Ensenada, the spots will be at at Centro de Salud Av. Ruiz and 14 Colonia Centro, at CAAPS of Colonia Popular 89, the Park in Colonia Morelos, and the facilities of Health Services Jurisdiction Vicente Guerrero.

On the other hand, the governor highlighted that significant progress has been made regarding the construction of Santuario Mily by the Secretariat of Infrastructure, Urban Development, and Territory Redesign (SIDURT), an institution whose construction should be finished in October 2023. It will become a space dedicated to the protection and safeguarding of animals to provide them with proper treatment.

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