The pets of Mérida, Yucatán, will soon have first-class facilities for both health emergencies and regular check-ups. The city government, in conjunction with state officials, is planning a 15-million-peso (US $750,000) public veterinarian hospital, the first of its kind in southeastern Mexico.

The new hospital will include doctors offices, a surgical area, overnight housing for pets, recovery and quarantine areas, and offer adoption services to the local community.

The new hospital comes as a part of Declaración Mérida 2050, an agreement signed in February of 2019 between Governor Mauricio Vila and Mérida Mayor Renán Barrera to improve the state capital. Also part of the agreement’s long-term vision is the planting of hundreds of trees within the city limits, improving mobility and transportation, lowering the cost of public transportation, and repairing the city’s failing water distribution system.

Governor Vila has frequently made the well-being of animals part of his political tenure, proposing and passing a mistreatment of animals bill when he was in Congress, creating an Animal Protection Unit and the city’s first public veterinarian services when he was mayor of Mérida and now, as governor, working with Yucatán’s Attorney General’s Office to create a special animal protection unit.

… y un trato digno a los animales de compañía y en situación de abandono con:

✅ Área de hospital con módulos de vacunación, consultorios y quirófano; así como estancia canina, áreas de adopción, cuarentena y de recuperación. (2/3) pic.twitter.com/LC3uQzoH3J

— Mauricio Vila (@MauVila) June 29, 2022

“We hope to continue creating consciousness about the treatment [of animals] in order to make Yucatán a peaceful and harmonious place for all,” said the governor.

Mayor Barrera said the building of the new veterinarian hospital was just one more step in creating the kind of city Mérida’s residents want — a place that’s inclusive, sustainable and humane.

“For a long time our administration, in collaboration with residents, civil institutions, activists, and the general population, has been prioritizing the well-being and responsible ownership of animals,” Barrera said.

The new hospital will be located in the southern-central part of the city, according to Vila, so that even residents with few economic resources will be able to access and use the services that will be offered there.

With reports from Milenio and Mérida Moderna