"We idealized scratch cards as a way to reach an audience that loves animals and that can, in addition to helping the cause, also have fun and win prizes," says Marcelo Queiroz, Secretary of Agriculture and responsible for Public Policies for Animal Protection and Welfare.
According to Loterj, the circulation will be 400 thousand tickets, sold at R$ 2 each (US$ 0.40), in more than ten thousand points of sale. In all, the prizes will exceed R$ 440,000 (US$ 86k), with 20 scratch cards – which feature a dog and a cat – worth the maximum amount of R$ 5,000 (US$ 980). The launch ceremony takes place today (9), at 2 pm, at Palácio Guanabara, with the presence of several authorities.
"Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you will be doing the impossible. I really like this phrase from our protector of animals, São Francisco de Assis. And it is with it that I thank all the efforts of the Secretary of Agriculture with the animals of our State. When the will to achieve is strong and partnerships are strengthened, anything is possible. Thanks also for all the love with RioSolidario," says the first lady of the state, Analine Castro, who is president of honor of the NGO.
The president of Loterj, Otavio Bastos Cunha, explained that all the income from the "animal scratch card" will be transferred to RioSolidario, which will be responsible for coordinating actions to protect animals with the amount collected. The entity also promises new initiatives to support the cause soon: "It is part of our objective to make Rio one of the main states in the country in the cause of animal defense," assures Bastos Cunha.
Jogo do bicho
Although, from any point of view, there are no concrete links between the state initiative and the popular jogo do bicho, the association ends up being almost immediate — after all, it is not every day that lotteries linked, directly or indirectly, to animals. The origin of the clandestine practice, by the way, also took place in a context of "rescue" to animals.
At the end of the 19th century, Barão de Drummond, founder of Rio de Janeiro’s Jardim Zoo, then located in Vila Isabel, needed to increase revenue after losing an imperial subsidy to the site. Then came the illegal lottery, which soon spread across Rio, even fomenting violent disputes over territory.
More than a century later, a proposal that is being discussed in Congress intends to legalize the jog do bicho, as well as other games of chance, such as bingo and casinos. Approved in the Chamber of Deputies, despite resistance from opposition parties and the evangelical bench, the bill went to the Senate, where it has not yet been appreciated.
Source: O Globo
