By adopting a stray animal in Roccastrada, a municipality in the province of Grosseto, the waste tax is reduced by 70 per cent. And the initiative appears to be a great success.
A stray animal as a friend, a companion for life, and a tax break that, in these times, is certainly not to be underestimated. Roccastrada, a small municipality in the province of Grosseto, has launched the campaign Fatti adottare. Più affetto, meno tasse to encourage adoptions of dogs housed at the local shelter. Anyone who adopts a stray receives a reduction on the Tari (the municipal waste tax) of up to 70 per cent. The initiative is aimed at citizens who are up to date with their tax payments and have not received convictions for crimes against animals. Excluded from adoption, however, are puppies under one year of age, who find a home and affection more easily than older dogs.
Thanks to the municipal initiative, around twenty dogs have been adopted in two years: this was announced by the mayor of Roccastrada, Francesco Limatola. And just as many residents have seen their Tari reduced by 50 or 70 per cent as a result. The small Grosseto municipality's experience has been one of the pilot schemes in Italy to have received a tremendous response. In 2016, a similar project was also carried out in Sicily, in Agira. And it appears that other Italian municipalities will follow suit: the local authorities in Roccastrada have, in fact, been contacted for guidance and clarification by other towns interested in the initiative.
The Roccastrada project got under way in 2015 with the approval of a specific regulation and, following the first positive results, was relaunched with the collaboration of the Grosseto branch of the Lega nazionale per la difesa del cane and of Avrai (Associazione volontari Ribolla animali indifesi), which have carried out, together with the municipal administration, awareness-raising initiatives aimed at the community and at schools on the subject of animal mistreatment and abandonment.
The tax concession remains active for the entire life of the dog and is subject to checks on its condition. A certificate of good health for the animal is also required, to be sent to the municipality every year. To verify the good intentions of those who adopt — and to prevent the dog from being abandoned again once the Tari reduction has been obtained — the local police are on hand to carry out periodic checks.
Encouraging responsible adoptions, reducing stray animal numbers and helping owners meet the costs of keeping a pet through a tax break is undoubtedly an excellent initiative that, it is to be hoped, will very soon become common practice across many other local authorities in our country.