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The federal government supports animal shelters in the pandemic: Freising's chairman is concerned about bureaucratic hurdles

2021-04-29T19:06:32.047Z


Animal shelters should receive financial support from the federal government. In Freising they are happy about this news, but they are concerned about bureaucratic hurdles.


Animal shelters should receive financial support from the federal government.

In Freising they are happy about this news, but they are concerned about bureaucratic hurdles.

Mintraching

- Basically it is good news: Animal shelters in Germany will soon receive financial support from the Federal Environment Ministry.

Joseph Popp, chairman of the animal shelter association that runs the district facility in Mintraching, is still worried: Applying for funding is easier said than done.

Animal shelter subsidy from the federal government is "very welcome"

Since Saturday it has been possible for associations that run animal shelters to apply for the one-time grant of 7500 euros.

The Bundestag decided on the funding in December; five million euros were allocated to the budget of the Ministry of the Environment.

Because almost all events that generate donations for animal shelters have been canceled due to Corona for a year, the hope is to alleviate the plight of the facilities.

"Basically that is of course very welcome," says Joseph Popp when asked by FT, but emphasizes sarcastically: "Above all, the fact that the federal government takes note that there are animal shelters in Germany is a huge achievement." The financial support would be one Tremendous help - just to compensate for the expenses for masks, disinfectants and other hygiene measures that have become necessary due to the corona.

Popp hopes that estimates will be allowed

But how much money the animal shelter in Mintraching gets, the club chairman has a hard time assessing.

"As I understand the directive on the one-time granting of a grant to compensate for shortfalls and additional expenditure, we have to be able to prove exactly what deficit we have." At events such as flea or Christmas markets, he can still do this reasonably well based on the 2019 figures prove.

“But when it comes to the donations that come in, I can only appreciate that.

And I have a hard time finding evidence of funds that we haven't acquired for a year. "

In addition, it is not yet entirely clear how detailed the individual items should be.

"At the end of the year, we usually get a donation in the five or six-figure range," says Popp.

"But of course we don't collect what exactly was in each individual donation can." This would require even more employees, although the staff was scarce anyway.

"I therefore hope that estimates will be allowed," says Popp, who already believes that many other animal welfare associations are doing similarly to the Freising.

He is currently working with his team to put together the necessary documents.

"We'll apply for funding - and see what happens."

The illegal trade in puppies is booming

As in many regions of Germany, the demand for pets in the Freising district has increased significantly since the beginning of the pandemic. “People have a lot more time thanks to lockdown, short-time work and home office,” says Popp. “We are still mediating like the world champions.” However, he also emphasizes that every case is carefully checked and that animals, regardless of whether they are guinea pigs or dogs, are not carelessly handed over to someone else's hands.

“Of course there are many people who have long wanted to get a pet. If they fulfill this wish now, that's perfectly fine, ”says Popp. However, it is difficult in cases where boredom or more free time have a decisive influence on the decision. In addition, the illegal trade, especially in puppies, is booming. But also classifieds sites - mostly on the Internet - currently offer a sheer mass of dogs in particular. Association chairman Joseph Popp fears that a large part of the animals that have now been purchased will end up in homes again after the end of the pandemic restrictions. "That will be problematic."

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Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-04-29

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