actualidad local - fuerteventura magazine hoy

FUERTEVENTURA MAGAZINE hoy
hoy
13
13
QUIÉN ES QUIÉN EN LA ISLA / WHO’S WHO IN THE ISLAND? /WER IST WER AUF DER INSEL?
Andrea and Thomas Wittwer – Association for the protection of plants and
animals OKAPI
«We have to be aware of the responsibility
that comes with having a pet»
FMHOY - Fuerteventura
We met with Andrea and Thomas Wittwer to talk with
them about their work within the OKAPI association
(Association for the protection of plants and animals
in Fuerteventura) and also about our society’s problem
of abandon and lack of responsibility of people towards
their pets.
Andrea, when did you become interested in
collaborating in this activity?
It all started because I had a lot of my daughters’
clothes that I didn’t want to throw away and I thought
of selling them on the market, but the Ayuntamiento
of La Oliva told me that if the profits went to me I had
to create a company, register, etc… but if it was for
charity, there was no problem. As we had a dog, we
thought of giving the proceeds to an association that
takes care of dogs.
This is how the OKAPI market was born 12 years ago
and although at the beginning it was only small, it has
grown thanks to the public’s interest. At present it
happens every third Sunday of the month on Plaza de
La Paz in Puerto del Rosario. The Association for the
protection of cats, Kits+Cats, also participates in this
market and individuals who pay a small fee of 6 • to
OKAPI can also come and sell their second hand items
here and keep the rest of the proceeds.
Do many people come and sell their second hand
belongings on this market?
In December there were 70 stalls.
Do you hold any other responsibilities within
OKAPI?
No, my husband Thomas does. He collaborates in
the cleaning of Puerto del Rosario’s kennels; since the
old kennel, (which was a lot worse that the present
one), we are always looking for solutions that don’t
come through, when you think all is going better,
something else arises such as last year which was the
worse in twelve years that we have been here.
Has the crisis had an impact?
Yes, the number of abandons of animals has been
very high, in some cases because the owners are
leaving the island, and in others because they can’t
afford to feed them any longer. English laws make the
process so complicated to be able to bring pets as they
have to have the anti-rabies jab six months prior to
travelling. In countries like Germany, Holland,
Switzerland, etc. there are no problems which means
that people almost always move with their pet.
Furthermore, many people buy a pet for their children
for Christmas not thinking that they are not toys, they need
to be educated, fed and they live for 14 to 16 years. We
have to be aware of the responsibility that comes with it.
In addition to being a problem for the Association,
this is also very sad for the animals, isn’t it?
It is horrible for some dogs. Some races suffer terribly.
We even had the case of a small female dog that, during
the night when her owners brought her to the kennel,
bit her hair off and was bleeding all over her body the
next day. We brought her home and she got better when
she felt she had a family again.
What is the connection between OKAPI and the
kennel?
OKAPI co-exists with the kennel, they rescue the
abandoned animals and the association does the work
to sterilise them, clean them of parasites and give them
the anti-rabies jab and the Vangart 7, which is
compulsory in Europe. We also fit them with a microchip
and later we take pictures of them to start looking for
a family on the Internet for them, which we also take
to the local TV station for the same reason.
Are there cases when they have to be put down?
Yes, we visit kennels all over the island and some
animals that are too ill and cannot be saved have to
be put down by the vet.
Are many animals sent to families in Germany?
Yes, we work closely with an Association called
Tierhilfe Fuerteventura; they look for families after
personally checking that they comply with all the
conditions for adoption and that they are willing to pay
for the animal’s transport.
How much does it cost to adopt one of those
animals on the island?
To adopt a dog costs 100•, but if it is a pup the cost is
180• because we can’t neuter a pup. When they bring
us the dog back later to neuter it, we reimburse them the
difference. We do that in order to make people realise
that dogs have to be neutered because there are too many
on the island, especially for some races, such as Ibizan
Hounds (called Podencos), of which 82.251 are registered
in the Canaries. They are hunting dogs and when they
are abandoned they can’t be adopted easily by a family
as they don’t tend to adapt well to living indoors.
For people who are interested in collaborating in
the association, what is the cost?
It only costs 24• per year for the member’s fee and
we need more members because they help us so much.
Nowadays over half of the members are foreigners. It
is also possible to make donations into the account in
Banca March 0061-0248-74-0112230112.
Some people also come and work with us bringing
their time and experience. Therefore we have a
grooming salon and physiotherapist for dogs. We would
like to remind everyone that our opening hours are
12:00 until 13:30 everyday in the Industrial Estate of
Risco Prieto and our telephone numbers are 928 175
932 and 650 160 018.