Animal Abuse Dominates Complaints in Mexico City; 73% of Cases Closed
Mexico City, July 15 – The Environmental and Territorial Attorney’s Office (PAOT) released its 2025 annual report, revealing that animal abuse has become the most frequently reported crime in Mexico City, accounting for 48% of all citizen complaints. While the PAOT received 3,861 complaints, a significant 73% of these cases were closed due to legal or material impossibilities to act.
The report, presented as an exercise in accountability, underscores the normalization of violence against sentient beings in the capital. This issue gained public attention recently following controversial statements by TV host Pedro Sola, who expressed disdain for pet-friendly spaces and jokingly suggested poisoning animals. Animal rights groups condemned Sola’s remarks, arguing that such discourse fosters cruelty.
Animal Abuse Outpaces Irregular Construction and Noise Complaints
PAOT’s 2025 figures indicate that animal abuse complaints, at 48%, vastly outnumbered those related to irregular constructions (18.5%) and noise (15%). To address the 3,861 animal abuse complaints, PAOT personnel conducted 5,459 fact-finding visits and dedicated 16 of its 146 comprehensive investigations exclusively to this category.
Of the 2,831 concluded complaints, 73% were closed because the PAOT could not verify the abuse or faced legal/material constraints. Voluntary compliance resolved 20.3% of cases, while the remaining 6.07% were closed for other reasons, including withdrawal of the complaint, criminal charges, or precautionary actions.
These outcomes were achieved through inter-institutional collaboration with the Mexico City Attorney General’s Office, the Animal Care Agency (Agatan), and the Animal Surveillance Brigade of the Citizen Security Secretariat (SSC).
Top 15 Colonies in Mexico City with the Most Animal Abuse Complaints
The environmental authority’s report included a georeferenced map identifying “hot spots” across the capital. From 2021 to 2025, just 15 colonies out of the city’s 1,562 accounted for 2,026 complaints. The Cuauhtémoc borough had the most colonies on this “blacklist” (5), followed by Coyoacán, Iztapalapa, Iztacalco, and Venustiano Carranza, each with two.
The ranking of colonies with the highest number of complaints is as follows:
- Pedregal de Santo Domingo (Coyoacán) – 254 complaints
- Agrícola Oriental (Iztacalco) – 205 complaints
- Doctores (Cuauhtémoc) – 156 complaints
- Zona Rústica (Tlalpan) – 138 complaints
- Guerrero (Cuauhtémoc) – 127 complaints
- Moctezuma 2a. Sección (Venustiano Carranza) – 126 complaints
- Centro (Cuauhtémoc) – 125 complaints
- Agrícola Pantitlán (Iztacalco) – 124 complaints
- Santa María La Ribera (Cuauhtémoc) – 119 complaints
- Obrera (Cuauhtémoc) – 118 complaints
- Jardín Balbuena (Venustiano Carranza) – 111 complaints
- Unidad Vicente Guerrero (Iztapalapa) – 110 complaints
- Zona Rústica (Xochimilco) – 108 complaints
- Chinampac de Juárez (Iztapalapa) – 105 complaints
- Pedregal de Santa Úrsula (Coyoacán) – 100 complaints
Boroughs with the most identified colonies:
- Cuauhtémoc – 5 colonies
- Coyoacán – 2 colonies
- Iztapalapa – 2 colonies
- Iztacalco – 2 colonies
- Venustiano Carranza – 2 colonies
- Tlalpan – 1 colony
- Xochimilco – 1 colony
Animal Deaths and Legislative Actions
In early June, residents of Santa María Nativitas in Xochimilco reported that a free sterilization campaign resulted in the deaths of over 50 companion animals. Owners described their pets developing infections and vomiting days after the procedures, which were allegedly performed under unsanitary conditions. A complaint filed with the Mexico City Attorney General’s Office remains unanswered.
This incident prompted Deputy Luisa Fernanda Ledesma Alpízar (Movimiento Ciudadano) to address the Mexico City Congress, urging the Ministry of Environment (Sedema), Agatan, and the 16 boroughs to provide information on animal sterilization protocols. The legislator emphasized that mass sterilization campaigns should prioritize quality of procedures, post-surgery evaluation, and emergency response capabilities, not just the number of animals treated.
Furthermore, on Wednesday, July 15, Morena Deputy Elizabeth Mateos proposed significant increases in penalties for cruelty, abuse, and intentional killing of animals:
- Seriously injuring an animal: Current penalty: one to three years in prison. Proposed: four to eight years in prison.
- Taking the life of a sentient being: Current penalty: two to six years in prison. Proposed: ten to fifteen years in prison.
- Apology for animal cruelty: Current penalty: not specified. Proposed: up to four years in prison.
- House arrest for elderly (over 60) in cases of recidivism: Current penalty: possibility of serving sentence at home. Proposed: elimination of benefit; age does not exempt from effective imprisonment in cases of repeated animal cruelty.
These legislative efforts reflect a growing concern over animal welfare in Mexico City and a push for stronger legal frameworks to combat cruelty.
