APADAC in crisis
THE ANIMAL welfare charity that manages the municipal animal shelter in Callosa de Segura, APADAC has had to take the drastic action of temporarily suspending its service of collecting stray dogs and cats. They said this is because the town hall has not paid them the fees for this service since November.
“The association was awarded the contract for the service in a public tender, during these months we have fulfilled our part of the contract despite not having received the fee, we have tried to understand the current situation and the priorities, but the situation is totally unsustainable,” explained APADAC in a statement.
In the meantime the animals in their care still have to eat every day and have basic needs that it is becoming difficult to cover.
The association insisted this is not a political issue and they have always remained neutral, but want an agreement to resolve the problem.
APADAC has supported itself for over 12 years, mostly on donations, and when there was no support from the authorities the animals came first thanks to the volunteers, members and collaborators who have trusted in them.
They said they bid for the municipal contract to prevent abandoned animals being taken to centres where they are put down 20 days later.
APADAC said the town hall has now cast doubt on their management so they are ‘obliged to respond’:
“We are not asking for subsidies or aid, we are asking them to comply with their part of the contract.”
The town hall blamed the association for not presenting invoices, ‘casting doubt on our intention to meet tax obligations and insinuating that what we are asking would violate public contracts law’.
“Nothing could be further from the truth,” they assured.
APADAC argued that at no time were they informed that any additional paperwork was required, even when they were paid their monthly fees from June to October 2019.
They insisted that if they had been consulted, the misunderstanding would have been resolved. They also denied they had not asked the council what was happening with the unpaid fees, assuring they did so repeatedly and in writing, but without reply.