Tenerife Council Awards €700,000 in Grants to Animal Welfare Groups

The Tenerife Island Council has finalized its grant allocations for 2025–2026, marking an end to recent tensions between the local government and animal welfare groups.

The Association for the Defense and Protection of Canarian Animals (Adepac) will receive 219,211.33 euros, the largest share of the funding. This support comes after the organization repeatedly warned that it was struggling to stay afloat, particularly after taking in twenty dogs during a recent large-scale rescue in the north of the island.

In total, the Animal Welfare department is distributing 700,000 euros among 21 non-profit organizations. The funding is split based on how these groups operate: 559,870.71 euros has been awarded to eight organizations that maintain physical shelters, including 196,865.28 euros for Aktion Tier Menschen Für Tiere E V. The remaining 139,988.53 euros will support 13 groups focused on equine rescue and managing community cat colonies.

The grant process had previously been strained by disagreements over paperwork. While Adepac argued that bureaucratic delays threatened the lives of the 300 animals in their care, the Island Council maintained that payments were dependent on resolving outstanding administrative issues. Island councilor Valentín González has now emphasized the importance of these groups to Tenerife’s animal welfare, noting that the grants will be paid in advance to provide shelters with immediate, much-needed cash flow.

The funding covers expenses—such as food, veterinary care, and maintenance—incurred between June 1, 2025, and the end of 2026. Organizations must submit documentation to verify their spending between January 1 and February 15, 2027. By providing this funding, the Council acknowledges that these volunteer-led associations are effectively managing a public responsibility that would otherwise fall to the government.