Losing a favorite restaurant to the coronavirus crisis is one thing, but there’s something particularly awful about saying goodbye to a shelter to more than 100 animals.
That is the possible fate of the AFAD — the Franciscan Shelter of the Unprotected Animal — by the end of the month, President Lidia Saleh Angulo told Sipse.
The situation is critical because the nonprofit shelter’s operators assumed things would be back to normal in three months. But after 100 days, the AFAD shelter space still cannot reopen to visitors.
It’s biggest income source, a pet sterilization campaign, was suspended in mid-March just as the crisis began. Money has dried up to pay the food bill for so many cats and dogs, as well as some birds.
“We are terrible,” Saleh Angulo said. “At first we had the support of good people, but this has gone on too long and we are already up to our necks with water. We have little or no support and much of what supports the association is low-cost campaigns and now we cannot do them. The problem is that we have many animals.”
The economic shutdown has been unsustainable for many businesses.
Restaurante Bollicine on the Paseo de Montejo was the latest eatery to announce it was ending its run. After a one-time payout early in the crisis, the state government has offered nothing for struggling entrepreneurs and the federal government has no plans for an economic bailout. For business owners who rent property, landlords have not necessarily been merciful or in a position to ease rent payments to adjust for the economic climate.
AFAD’s shelter is in Merida, on Carretera Cholul in front of the Modelo University. Contact them on Facebook or at 999-947-6319.
