Tenerife Cabildo Halts Funding for Adepac Shelter, 300 Dogs at Risk

The Adepac Canarias animal shelter in Ravelo, El Sauzal, is in serious trouble. The Cabildo de Tenerife has stopped a key payment, putting the future of nearly 300 dogs at risk.

This payment, 250,000 euros a year, was part of a 30-year deal made in 2009. Under this agreement, Adepac gave its facilities to the Cabildo. Valentín González, the Councilor for Animal Welfare, explained that funding will now be given out through a bidding process, treating Adepac like any other group on the island.

Yahaira Tovar, Adepac's president, agrees with the idea of competitive bidding. However, she is upset that there was no warning and no timeline for the new process. She believes the original contract should still be honored.

Stopping this money makes things much worse for the shelter, which cares for almost 300 dogs. Adepac says its yearly costs are around 600,000 euros. The Cabildo's payment covered less than half of this, meaning Adepac already had to find other ways to raise money. Even though the shelter has a license and approved building plans, it has problems like power cuts when it rains, no phone signal, no proper office, broken water heaters, and no automatic gate.

Many of the dogs are old or sick, leading to high costs for vet care, medicine, and special food, which makes them harder to adopt. On top of this, there are salaries for ten staff members, insurance, and basic running costs like electricity, water, and cleaning supplies.

Because of this uncertainty, Adepac has organized a protest for next Friday, February 27, outside the Cabildo's main office. They want to warn people that the center might close. At the same time, the Socialist political group will ask the island council to make sure the original agreement is followed and that promised improvements to the facility are made.

Adepac Canarias started in 1989 and has a long history of helping animals. They rescued fighting dogs in Güímar in 2017, helped with evacuations during floods in Tierra Blanca in 2021, and collected aid for animals affected by the 2023 fires. President Tovar is asking for public support for their demands. She stresses the importance of keeping their work going, ensuring no animals are put down and that they live in good conditions.