SPA Saint-Etienne Loire is in dire need of a new site
And association with Saint-Etienne municipal pound as well as Amis Chats. The Saint-Etienne Loire Society for the Protection of Animals (SPA) with them, rue Florent-Evrard in Saint-Etienne, a municipal space it has occupied for decades. The dilapidated buildings, which have been put to use for free, are visibly deteriorating. To the chagrin of the SPA president, who has been warning about the situation for years. When questioned, he announces that the town hall must finally act.
According to Pierre Porterat, president of SPA Saint-Etienne Loire, their last visit was a few months ago. It is not the first time that the Department of Population Protection (DDPP), the Public Service responsible for the protection and health of animals, has notified the city that the site on rue Florent-Evrard is not in compliance. . “On the problem of wear or discharge of ground fluidsPierre Porterat notes. I fear for the safety of our staff and visitors. Absolutely everything needs to be redone. » In addition to the standards, there is the most pressing issue of the comfort of animals, workers, and the public: “Our total parking lot is small. But people come here to give up or adopt. We suggest people with a sign try their luck at a nearby crematorium, and the latter does the same with us. The arrival of a nearby Turkish cultural center will solve this common problem. »
Rusty doors and gates, mold, broken roofs, crumbling concrete boxes and general disrepair: we won’t list the whole thing. A quick visit to the building is enough to understand. Rather than being depleted, these buildings are literally falling apart. “The difficulty is common in municipal pound and Amis conversations. We work together a lot and logically share the same site.”, notes that Pierre Porterat, who has been leading the association for 10 years. SPA Loire Saint-Etienne, founded in 1910, belongs to a confederation of 280 companies created in departments like them (in the Loire, there is a second one for Roannais). It has been built on Rue Florent-Evrard for decades. Even if it operates on the scale of the southern two-thirds of the department and is recognized as a public service, SPA Loire can only rely on the City of Saint-Etienne for the support of public authorities.
SPA is full of school leavers
If it is given a municipal subsidy, based on the volume of activity (€3,400 in 2022), this support essentially translates into free provision of land and buildings. Which is nothing. The fact is that the largest part of the annual budget – 420,000 euros – is provided first by bequests, then by contributions to the costs of adopting cats and dogs (from 200 euros to 320 euros, depending on the profile; all are looked after and mostly sterilized) or one-time donations. SPA Loire has seven employees who are on the premises 7 days a week, and through an agreement with the city, they even put their hands to the dough on weekends to help the pound. At the same time, more than twenty activists like Pierre Porterat, including about 80 volunteers. For example, they allow adopted animals to leave their crates, go for walks, and show them affection. At present, one hundred dogs and cats from the SPA live in forty crates. Or rather, overcrowding.
Incongruously, the natives are actually getting a little more each week: the union, on the other hand, is squeezed by the influx of far-flung arrivals, compensated by declining adoptions. Dogs and cats are placed here by the municipal pound of Saint-Etienne, so when possible, also those deprived of Firminy or even Saint-Etienne-le-Molard. Sometimes by Justice for cases of ill-treatment, moreover, it is increasing. “But the most explosive is the voluntary refusal. If we compare the estimates made in May 2021 and May 2022, they have increased by 15%.Pierre Porterat assures. There are elderly people who die or can no longer care for their animals, but also anonymous abandonment: it is common to be asked for a box full of kittens without saying a word at the entrance. The waiting list for those who submit in good and proper form continues to swell. »
Abandoned inter-municipal pound idea
According to Pierre Porterat, there is also a growing proportion of people who take for granted the cost of an animal, both in terms of money – feeding them, caring for them – and over time. short, “We do everything we can to keep it as clean as possible, to keep up with each passing day. But we have to change places, this is no longer possible. I have already talked about this a lot in the past, with the municipality during the previous mandate. There are exchanges and others from 2020. But in vain: they tell me about research, about investing on a metropolitan scale, but it does not budge. We “claim” not for ourselves, but for the animals who want nothing. We don’t want them to be euthanized one day because they can’t take them instead of keeping them. » Pierre Porterat says he sent letters to the Department and the Metropolis as calls for help.
We don’t want them to one day euthanize the animals because they can’t take them in instead of keeping them.
Pierre Porterat, President of SPA Saint-Etienne Loire
Emphasizing that they are joining the municipal majority on this current mandate, Nicole Paizelon, deputy for public order and sanitation, and Véronique Falzone, municipal councilor in charge of animal welfare measures, say they are fully aware of the situation and visit the country regularly. field. “I certainly visited the site and took the time to measure everything and it is clear that a new one is needed. Because it’s impossible for SPA to stay here and redo everything on the site, as pound and Amis talkNicole Payselon notes. Under the previous mandate, the file was delayed as the idea of a metropolitan pound, or at least an inter-municipal scale, was put on the table. An idea that never materialized…”
Probably found land
Then there was Covid which, like many investment projects, delayed the processing and progress of the file. However, “I had a registered education loan at the end of 2021 to move somewhere not too far awayNicole Peycelon explains. Unfortunately, studies have shown that this is not possible here: too close to homes. It was a huge disappointment. But recently we have found a more ideal location.”. It must be confirmed, so the assistant will refrain from saying where. He hopes to achieve this investment, which is not yet included in the Multi-Year Investment Plan (PPI), by the end of his mandate. In the meantime, “emergency work” This year, several tens of thousands of euros will be implemented on the existing site, the town hall announced.
In particular, municipal elected official Véronique Falzone, like Pierre Porterat, sees new and growing needs in the defense of animal welfare. “For example, with Covid bringing overpopulation of cats, spaying of cats has been stopped or reduced. We also see an increase in clandestine dog breeding, with people adopting Malinois without realizing what it’s all about and then abandoning them. These new challenges add to the obsolescence to justify more appropriate locations. » So while everyone wants a SPA without “putting the ball back on others,” the municipality says it will take it even if neighboring towns want a pound that repatriates animals but doesn’t fund them.
