As well as being able to count on the boundless love that a rescued animal is capable of giving and on a unique friendship, from now on anyone who decides to adopt a dog from the municipal shelter in via Tiro a Segno in Palermo will also receive a small financial contribution of €480.

An incentive to empty the shelters

The municipality of Palermo has allocated €126,000 to distribute the funds over the next two years in order to encourage dog adoptions and reduce costs for the city — for every dog held, the relevant municipality spends between three hundred and a thousand euros a year. The initiative also came about to "empty" the shelter and allow the resumption of renovation and safety works on the facility's premises, which have been at a standstill since 2012.

How to apply for the incentive

Both private citizens and animal welfare associations or authorised shelters will be eligible for the incentive, "up to the total amount of €96,000 for 2017 and €30,000 for 2018, subject to extension," reads a note from the municipality. To prevent adoptions motivated solely by financial gain, the incentive will be paid on request, only after 120 days have elapsed from the dog's taking in and once the animal has been correctly registered in the adopter's name on the canine registry. The dogs will be handed over to their future owners already neutered and microchipped.

Protests from animal rights activists

Not everyone was pleased with the Sicilian municipality's initiative, however — in particular Elena La Porta, provincial president of the Lega Nazionale per la Difesa del Cane and adviser to the municipality of Palermo on the municipal shelter. "It's a measure I don't like — there is a risk of commodifying animals. If someone wants to adopt a dog, they adopt one; it won't be the €480 that pushes them to do it," La Porta declared. "On the contrary, the incentive may be attractive to people who care nothing about the animal. We will do everything we can to obstruct this initiative." Moreover, she said she had not been informed of the municipality's decision, despite her role as adviser.

The municipality's response

Sergio Marino, the Palermo councillor responsible for, among other things, the environment and animal rights, dismissed the possibility that animals might be adopted for purely financial motives. "We will not place the dogs unless we are certain of the quality of the individuals to whom we entrust them," the councillor assured. "The necessary checks will be carried out; we know, unfortunately, where wrongdoing lurks."