The animal association Ademal has harshly criticized the situation of Animal Welfare in the municipality of Haría, after the complaint on March 8 of the presence of a dog in Tabayesco with its snout tied with tape. In fact, they assure that in the municipality “there are no sanctions” of this type, and that the councilor of the area, Evelia García, “does not know the ordinance itself”.
Ademal assures that the Haría City Council has “up to 18 complaints” from the Animal Welfare area on the table, and that they have not done “absolutely anything”. “They may have gone 10 years without sanctioning for animal welfare, or perhaps never”, denounces the president, Raquel Córdoba.
“Most of the complaints are due to improper facilities, because here everyone picks up and puts animals in pallets”, denounces the member of Ademal, who assures that this practice is “prohibited”. In addition, she also points out that some of these complaints are due to the presence of animals “tied for life”. “The law says that the owners must provide them with food daily, and some leave them unattended and go from time to time to feed them,” she adds.
“This is the municipality of Haría, which does not fine this type of action and allows animals to be as they were 50 years ago”, they denounce from Ademal.
Likewise, Ademal maintains that the person in charge of Animal Welfare “does not answer their phone” since she took office in 2020. “For us, she is a ghost”, says Birgit Wenning, member of the Association and one of those in charge of filing the complaint with the Haría City Council and the Local Police of the municipality.
“Evelia García does not have the slightest empathy with animals. And it is a shame, because Haría is a small municipality, with a very old population, and there is a lack of education”, adds Birgit Wenning
“The animal left in a severe state of malnutrition”
From Ademal they regret that, based on the law, what happened to the dog “is not a crime”, because even if the animal's snout has been covered, “it was not in danger of death”. However, they harshly criticize that “several calls” had to be made for the Local Police to act and take the animal from the place.
“The animal left in a severe state of malnutrition, but the municipal veterinarian went two days later to see it and it was better”, explains the member of Ademal, who justifies that for this reason the infraction went from “serious” to “minor”. “This has happened because the Local Police has not acted as it should”, she criticizes.
In addition, the animal association points out that the owner of the Tabayesco farm “hoards other complaints of animal abuse”, and that he even has more animals than allowed. “You can only have five animals, whether they are dogs, cats or birds, and on that farm there have been up to twelve dogs,” says Raquel Córdoba, who again states that despite this reiteration of infractions “he has never been sanctioned”.
“That gentleman's family is well known in Haría and Tabayesco. He is a worker of the Cabildo, and is very supported by the authorities”, they maintain from Ademal, and criticize that the municipality “needs a reform in Animal Welfare from 0”.
However, Birgit Wedding assures that they will present a new letter to the Haría City Council requesting the “immediate seizure of the animals from the farm”, and assures that it has “urban” land. In addition, in that letter they will also denounce “a possible dereliction of duty by the Local Police”, and will ask for “the resignation of Evelia García”.
Ademal will present a new letter to the City Council and is considering legal action
On the other hand, the association maintains that they are “waiting” for the City Council to respond, and if not, they are considering the possibility of taking the problem through legal channels. In this sense, Ademal does positively value a meeting with the current accidental mayor of Haría, Víctor Robayna, and assure that “he was unaware of the situation in Animal Welfare”.
“We are open to dialogue with everyone, to improve the lives of animals”, says Birgit Wedding. In addition, she points out that the association wants the City Council to respond to their requests and answer, in order to avoid going to court.
“We don't like to denounce through legal channels, because that costs money”, points out Wedding, but she emphasizes the need to improve the Animal Welfare system. “We have to fight, there is a law and it is for everyone”, she concludes.
