Death of the dog Joca: Lula wears a tie in ‘protest’ and Janja criticizes Gol

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and the first lady, Janja da Silva, spoke this Wednesday (24) about the case of the dog Joca. The animal died inside the Gol company plane last Tuesday (24), after being sent to the wrong airport.

The PT member said he was wearing a tie with a dog design in “solidarity” and “homage” to the animal. He even demanded explanations from the airline.

“I put on this tie this morning, in protest of what happened (…) I think Gol has to be held accountable. I think Anac has to monitor it, because we cannot allow this to happen in Brazil”, said the president during a ceremony at Palácio do Planalto.

“So, this tie is our tribute and our solidarity”, concludes the PT member alongside several government ministers. The press cannot follow the agenda and an excerpt of his speech was published on social media.

The first lady also used social media to talk about the death of her dog Joca. She recorded a video on Instagram alongside the Prime Minister of Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho.

Janja said she was “very shaken” when she heard the news and that she would have reported the matter to President Lula on Tuesday night. In the video, she says that she instructed the PT member to wear a tie with dog designs. The first lady calls the case “irresponsibility” by Gol. She, like her husband, also showed solidarity with the animal’s owner, João Fantazzini.

The Minister of Ports and Airports, in turn, thanked the Lula da Silva couple for their “social solidarity”, and said he was following their guidance. He also said that on Tuesday the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) sent an official notice to Gol so that the company could explain, within three days, “objectively what happened”.

“President Lula’s government, the first lady’s guidance, the government’s guidance is so that we can, on an emergency basis, seek tougher rules, improve the governance of the airlines themselves so that cases like these do not occur in the Brazil, especially because we are all defenders of the animal cause”, explained Silvio Costa Filho alongside Janja.

The Minister of Ports and Airports had previously commented on the case. He even announced the creation of a working group within the department to review the rules for transporting animals. The objective, according to him, is to think together with Anac about public policies for the transport of domestic animals on planes.

How the dog Joca died on the Gol flight

The golden retriever dog was 4 years old and would travel from Guarulhos Airport, in São Paulo, to Sinop, in Mato Grosso, with its owner, João Fantazzini.

As it is a large dog, it cannot go next to the aircraft seats and had to be shipped in a transport box, traveling in the hold with the passengers’ suitcases.

Upon arriving in Mato Grosso, Gol informed João of the error. The dog had not traveled on the same flight and was in Fortaleza, a city 2,082 km away. The owner received images and videos of the dog in Ceará, with water being provided by airline employees.

As Joca would pass through Guarulhos before being sent to Sinop, his owner decided to return to São Paulo to find the animal. Upon arriving at Guarulhos airport, João noticed that the dog had no vital signs.

Due to the episode, the airline decided to suspend the transport of pets on flights for 30 days.

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