INTERVIEW
On Monday, the Humane Society, which closed its doors to the public because of the coronavirus epidemic, had asked the government for a waiver so that people could come and adopt the residents of its 62 shelters, soon saturated. The SPA has won its case and the French can go and adopt animals from this Thursday. Guest of the morning of Europe 1, Jacques-Charles Fombonne, the president of the Society, welcomed this decision, affirming that the refuges were reaching saturation and that "it was absolutely necessary to make room".
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Without resumption of adoptions, euthanasia would have been the only way out for pound animals
"There was an absolute emergency (...). We are particularly happy". The president of the Humane Society recalled that due to confinement, people could no longer leave their homes to adopt. The direct consequence of this situation was the filling of shelters by the arrivals of the poundages, tells the microphone of Europe 1 Jacques-Charles Fombonne.
"We would have been in the situation, very quickly, of having to refuse these animals," he continues. Euthanasia would then have been the only way out if the shelters had reached saturation point. "We, SPA, we forbid by our statutes to euthanize these animals. But that would have been, in the poundlands, the only alternative offered by the rural code".
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7,000 requests in a few days
Since the implementation of the device to adopt animals during confinement, the SPA has received more than 7,000 requests, "whereas we usually make 3,500 per month and around 42,000 per year," says Jacques-Charles Fombonne. "It is necessary that the candidates for adoption understand that with 7,000 requests, with a new device, there will necessarily be for some people a relatively long waiting period", therefore wishes to specify the president of the SPA, "but everyone will have an answer "
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Above all, Jacques-Charles Fombonne recalls that the adoptions will take place under "extremely drastic conditions (...) so as not to take any risk of contamination between the employees, the volunteers and the people who will come to adopt". All the administrative part takes place on the internet, with extremely advanced questionnaires to check the motivations and the reception conditions of the adopters.
"We have reserved for physical contact the most important part of the adoption: the meeting between the person and the animal. It will be done at the doors of our shelters", explains the president of the SPA. "The adopters and the employees will remain at a distance and only the cat or the dog will come to rub with its future master, which will allow us to see how it will work between them".