More than 40 students learned about ARA’s work and got closely acquainted with the animals at Cabanita shelter
On April 20, about 40 students and their teachers from the Loulé Secondary School visited Animal Rescue Algarve’s animal shelter, in the Cabanita area of Loulé.
The visit was scheduled as part of continuous interactions and protocols between the school and the non-profit association, which aim to promote “a more global education of today’s youths”.
The tour of the shelter started in the reception area, where the administrative team manages most of the association’s tasks, from communications and social networks to human resources, requests for help, and much more.
From there, the students were shown the three areas where dogs live when they are not playing and socialising across the 14 recreational parks with pools, sandpits, and specialised apparatus, where dogs spend most of their time.
The shelter has a limit of 100 dogs to maintain a high ratio of staff/volunteers to animals, resulting in effective socialisation and familiarisation processes, which, in turn, increase the probability of responsible and long-lasting adoptions.
The present reality means that the average of 30 adoptions a month are not enough to tackle definitively the problem of animal abandonment, neglect or violence, which brings to Animal Rescue Algarve’s doorstep tens of requests for help a day.
ARA faces the responsibility of contributing to the education of future generations with great seriousness, because a lot of the current problems could be attenuated or scrapped altogether by readjusting some of past cultural tendencies toward animals.
Presently, the association is leading a pioneer project, with the help of the Loulé Townhall and Parishes like Almancil or Quarteira, which aspires to sterilise up to 1,500 street cats, and place up to 40 shelters annually, in order to monitor and control feline street colonies, while at the same time allowing these animals to live with dignity and security.
ARA will also be managing teams of local volunteers, and in partnership with public and private partners, will assure that all feed and veterinary costs are covered.
Since 2018, ARA has rescued, treated and rehomed in excess of 1,000 animals, in Portugal and beyond.
