Here's some wonderful news. The Barcelona "animal shelter" (perrera) has become a real shelter. It's gone no-kill. From now on the only animals that will be put down are those that are sick or dangerous. In 1999 86% of dogs and 98% of cats were put down, and in 2002 36% of dogs and 27% of cats were given the lethal injection. In 2003 those percentages will be almost zero. An organization called the Altarriba Foundation is taking over the Barcelona pound; they run the shelter in Mataró, exposed a couple of years ago as a dog pound that put down animals inhumanely. 85% of animals in the Mataró pound get adopted as pets. All we can say is great, terrific, swell, etc. Altarriba is also managing 31 colonies of stray cats within Barcelona, sterilizing them and giving them basic care. We must admit that Jordi Portabella of the Republican Left is the pro-animal guy on the City Council. Because we're soft on animals too, we give you leave to vote for Portabella when the municipal elections come up, probably in May.