Animal shelter contract passed
Orihuela animal welfare association expects cash crisis to continue in the short-term
ORIHUELA town hall has approved the new contract that will regulate the animal protection service in the municipality, and increased its budget.
The announcement came on Friday, just a few days after animal welfare association Asoka Orihuela, which manages the municipal animal shelter for the council, issued a desperate appeal for aid due to lack of funds.
They had lamented that their contract expired in March 2021, and although this did not prevent them from being able to continue providing the service legally – because it is classified as essential – it did mean the council’s payments for their expenses and salaries were being delayed by several months.
Asoka said they only received their funding for August in November, and nothing since then, so their eight employees agreed to go unpaid in February ‘so that food could be bought for the more than 270 animals in their care’.
The association also said they owe €6,000 to veterinary clinics and €2,000 for repairs, and have no more money for feed, fuel, medication, treatments and operations, castration and care of stray cat colonies, cat litter, or cleaning products.
They presented their bid for the new contract on November 3, but still had not received a reply.
The council called an emergency meeting of its local government committee on Friday,
which approved awarding the new contract to Asoka, announced health councillor José Galiano.
He explained that the shelter was opened in 2011 with €75,000 in funding from the council. After this proved insufficient, it was increased in 2014 to €118,000, and then again in 2016 to €159,720.
The new contract is the largest yet, totalling €202,758 and includes expenses for maintaining the shelter’s 9,000 square metres of outdoor spaces, which need to be kept clean and clear of vegetation.
It also includes five new workers who will be employed at veterinary clinics in various capacities, said Sr Galiano.
He assured that the pending invoices have been approved and signed, ‘so payment is assured’, and insisted this proves that he and mayor Emilio Bascuñana are committed to the protection of animals.
The councillor concluded by emphasising the value of the work done by the association and the quality of the municipal animal protection service.
Nevertheless, Asoka warned on Saturday that they did not expect to receive any of this funding for at least a month or possibly two, ‘so our financial situation remains the same and will continue for a while’.
They thanked their supporters for sending them donations and messages of support, ‘so that we don’t feel alone’.