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CPD51 THE MEXICO CITY DUMP: AN ISLAND PARADISE OF DOGS
A fresh view of an old relationship.
Seminar on DVD
Professor Ray Coppinger: Recorded on 24th April, 2010 at The Medieval Hall, Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK

Written and presented by Professor Ray Coppinger.

I like watching dogs. I mostly like watching "islands" of dogs. The concept of “island” is to try to limit the area of study. On a real island a dog population will stop at the water’s edge. Within that well-defined area the dogs will find food, reproduce and try to stay out of trouble.  How they do that is what I like to watch.

Now — picture a large city, Mexico City, perhaps the largest city in the world. Millions and millions of people are eating every day in this city, creating enormous waste. Those wastes are collected and delivered directly to the dogs in the dump. It is just like feeding pets but on a much bigger scale.

“All species of animals are limited by food”, says Darwin.   Finding enough food to keep body and soul together, reproduce and stay out of trouble is what natural selection is all about. But if Charlie had studied the dogs in the Mexico City dump he might not have come up with his theory.

For most dogs in the world their daily bread is reliable. The Mexico City dump dogs have a 24/7/365 reliable resource just like our better-cared-for pets. Life is so much better and more natural for the dump dogs. All the food you can eat and an interesting

social life which is heavy into courtship, motherhood and puppies and all those other wonderful natural things that dogs like to do. In fact for a dog it is a bit of paradise. They are not neutered, and they are not on a leash.

We counted between 700 and 1000 of them living like dogs. The worst thing that could happen to any one of them is to get captured and sterilized and put in some shelter in Florida, maybe to be adopted into a solitary life in someone’s home.

In this dump there are two times as many dogs as there are people.  In America there are four times as many people as there are dogs.

It might be the same in Europe.

And in poorest Africa there are often only 7 to 10 dogs per 100 people.  So my little dump island in Mexico City is a phenomenon – more dogs than people.

This is one of the only places in the world to be able to claim that.

A large population of people lives in the dump. I counted perhaps 250 people living as families, complete with babies and children, in the dump.

They seem happy. Another 300 – 400 people come to the dump every day and work at various jobs. When I first went there I thought they were poor people forced to the economic margins. But that is not true.

They are scavengers, yes, but they are scavenging recyclable materials such as plastics, paper, cardboard and metals to sell. They are really greenies, and some make a good living at it.

So what is the problem? It turns out there isn’t much of a problem here in the Land of Oz. The dogs and people both have a continuous source of resources coming to them and they are not competitive with each other for those resources.

Importantly for us, it turns out that the dogs and people like each other. Our study here centers on how the dogs and people interact with each other in the Mexico City Dump. I will try to compare them with the rest of the dog world. This island paradise, gave me new insights into the natural history of dogs, into their behavioral ecology and the continuing evolution of dogs and their people friends.

This presentation is important in understanding the relationship between human and dog societies. We find why the denizens of the dump do not fit the pervading perception that they are the dregs of societies in need of help and control. Often I am faced with those public officials who want to do something about people living in dumps.

As people struggle with issues of economics, health, medicine, environment, resources, energy, population, humane treatment and even politics, here we see a fresh view of human and animal welfare that can inform our thinking here in our island paradise.

I hope you will be able to come to the seminar, and look forward to meeting you and discussing the behaviour and ecology of the Mexican City Dump Dogs, and lots of other canine issues besides!

Positive Animal Solutions - Pleased to sponsor this seminar. Click the logo on the left to visit us and explore our range of DVDs, books, dog toys, dog training aids and more.

Registration and coffee

Introduction: Why are the Mexico City Dump Dogs interesting to those of us that raise train and show dogs or just revel in their petyness.

Coffee Break.

Behavioral Ecology: How do dogs earn a living and are the dump dogs all that different? If I was studying wolf behavior is some far off wilderness I'd probably be a behavioral ecologist. They have a method of study. Could we apply that method to the dump dogs? And what would that tell tell us about our captive dogs?

Lunch.

The evolution of dog behavior: Evolution takes place every day and every hour. In Places such as the MC dump one can see those animals evolving. Could it be that how they adapt to new environments will tell us something about how they got here in the first place?

Tea Break.

Dump Dogs and Dump People: They really don't need each other so why do they like each other?

Discussion and Closing Remarks.

1 day seminar held at The Medieval Hall, Cathedral Close, Salisbury, Wiltshire.

To be announced.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PURCHASING THIS UNIQUE, PROFESSIONALLY RECORDED AND PRODUCED DVD SET OF THE SEMINAR, PLEASE CONTACT THE COAPE OFFICE USING THE LINK BELOW.

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