For the first time in its history, Santa Cruz de Tenerife will establish its inaugural Municipal Council for the Defence and Protection of Animals. This new entity is set to gain approval today from the Governing Board of the capital’s City Council. It has been established with the intention of creating an informative, consultative, and advisory platform that ensures the involvement of animal protection organisations within the city, neighbourhood associations from all five districts, political groups within the council, and technical experts to develop agreed policies regarding animal welfare.
The Councillor for Environmental Sustainability and Public Services, Carlos Tarife, informed DIARIO DE AVISOS that “this is wonderful news, which has been anticipated for some time. Following various citizen participation initiatives conducted since last year, the capital now has a Municipal Council for Animal Welfare.”
The councillor elaborated that “this will act as a municipal advisory and consultation body, where different groups can articulate their views on forthcoming actions. Furthermore, it will comprise up to eleven representatives from the city districts, and we aim to appoint presidents from the neighbourhood associations to ensure comprehensive territorial representation.”
In this context, Tarife remarked that “this is the first occasion a Municipal Council has been established specifically focusing on animal protection, which underscores the support the capital has consistently extended to the animal kingdom.”
The regulations endorsed by the Governing Board for the establishment of this forum, which aims to address incidents occurring on public thoroughfares, alongside issues regulated or to be regulated within ordinances on animal ownership, also highlight the involvement of representatives from animal protection associations, whilst facilitating the inclusion of any other professionals with a proven background in this area.
Moreover, the representation from the City Council or other public administrations must never surpass 40% of the entire members of the body. This includes a representative from the local police, municipal political parties, and representatives from district residents’ associations.
The Department of Environmental Sustainability has championed this regulation for animal protection as a collaborative and participatory entity for the City Council’s guidance, a project that will now proceed to the plenary session.
