“That decision is up to the [Saipan] Mayor’s Office,” said Dela Cruz in an interview with the Variety.
He said $75,000 in funding is already “a good start-up” for Saipan’s dog control program, noting that Tinian spent only $10,000 for its program.
“The [Saipan mayor’s office] better send a representative on Tinian to study how its dog control program can be adopted and implemented on Saipan,” Dela Cruz said.
The Tinian Mayor’s Office recently declared that stray dogs are no longer a problem on the island, adding that the municipal dog control program was launched in 2006 and is still functioning.
The program includes capturing, housing and caring for sick and stray dogs.
For his part, Saipan Mayor Juan B. Tudela said he was not discouraged by the lack of funding to accomplish the animal shelter project before his term ends in Jan. 2010.
The Municipality of Saipan Animal Shelter was established by Saipan Local Law 9-12 which took effect on Oct. 19, 1995.
In 2003, the island’s dog control rules and regulations were established in collaboration with DLNR and the Attorney General’s Office.
In July 2006, the Saipan Mayor’s Office and DLNR entered into a memorandum of agreement that approved the transfer of DLNR’s piggery building in As Perdido to the mayor’s office for its animal shelter project.
In Dec. 2006, the Department of Finance remitted to the Saipan Mayor’s Office $75,000 to renovate and build an animal shelter for the stray cats and dogs on Saipan.
In 2007, biddings for the Saipan animal shelter project were solicited.
The lowest bid submitted amounted to $120,000, while the highest was $150,000, Tudela said.
In Dec. 2007, Tudela said an estimated 2,000 dog tags remained unused, more than 10 years after the Saipan Mayor’s Office ordered it.
