An original and unprecedented awareness-raising operation. Over the past few days, motorists passing through the commune of Mennecy have noticed a small change along the roadside. As revealed by our colleagues in Le Parisien, new road signs have appeared, reading " Chat en balade, ralentir" ("Cat on a walk, slow down "), " Hérisson, ralentir" ("Hedgehog, slow down ") and " Chevaux, ralentir" ("Horses, slow down "). The aim? To encourage drivers to take their foot off the accelerator in order to protect animals.
Behind this great initiative for our four-legged friends is " Aux Mennechats ", a local association for the defense and protection of cats, which hopes to reduce the number of accidents involving cats, but also other animals such as hedgehogs and birds.
" Every year, we collect dozens of animals (cats, birds, hedgehogs, editor's note) that are run over by vehicles, so the association came up with the idea of creating signs to try and raise people's awareness, to get them to slow down a little ", confided Jean-Philippe Dugoin-Clément, UDI mayor of Mennecy, to BFM Paris. In thisEssonne town, some forty of these new road signs have been installed at strategic points in the town, where accidents have occurred, and also near symbolic sites such as the veterinary clinic and the riding school.
This initiative is not all that surprising for the town of Mennecy. In 2020, this Essonne municipality was awarded the " Ville Amie des Animaux" (Animal-Friendly Town) label by the Île-de-France region.
