Adeje Town Hall’s Animal Welfare Department under councillor José Antonio López Delgado, has said that work to improve the Adeje shelter for abandoned pets has begun and are expected to last about four months. Plans include the expansion of the recreation area, environmental enrichment elements, a space for grooming and hairdressing, improvement and adaptation of the kennels, common areas, plumbing work for water supply and water disposal, etc. In short, the aim is to bring the centre up to the highest possible standards to ensure the welfare of the animals.
To guarantee a continued collection and care service for the duration of the works, Adeje has signed an agreement with the Tenerife Cabildo’s animal welfare area who will undertake to care for any animals found or abandoned in Adeje. Following a recent meeting between López Delgado and the head of the council, Valentín González, a collaboration agreement was reached whereby the council will be responsible for the collection of the animals and their subsequent transfer to the Tierra Blanca shelter managed by the council, where the animals will remain until they are adopted.
For José Antonio López "the welfare of the animals is a fundamental commitment of Adeje Town Hall. The public has already seen great progress in the last year, through our use of social media to show the animals in care and promote their adoption. Now we are taking another step forward, improving the facilities, while guaranteeing the service and care of the animals throughout the duration of the work".
The council has taken the decision to move the animals for the duration of the works because the disturbance would cause stress to the animals in the shelter. "We want to ensure the welfare of everyone, people and animals, during the works," explained the councillor.
The animals that were currently in the kennels have already been transferred to Tierra Blanca, with the exception of some dogs classified as PPP (potentially dangerous dogs) that could not be accommodated in the Tenerife Cabildo's island resource. For these cases (six in particular), Adeje Town Hall has contracted the service of a kennel on the island where the animals will remain until the completion of the works and then return to Adeje unless they have been adopted in the meantime. Adeje will, of course, continue to promote the pets on the official social media sites 0for those who wish to get to know them and consider adopting them.
Another of the points on which the council has been working over the last few months is the review of the volunteer process to care for the animals in the Shelter Centre. A specialised external company has carried out surveys and an analysis to find the best way to streamline and facilitate the volunteer procedure, complying with all the legal requirements of the current regulations. In this regard, the councillor stressed that "we must guarantee the safety of the people who want to volunteer and also the welfare of the animals, who deserve to be treated by people suitable for such work", who must pass the required filters.
