The government funding for animal rights group Anima Macau has been increased from MOP3.8 million to MOP5 million, Anima president Albano Martins announced.
Provided by the Macao Foundation, the increase in funding came after Anima sent a request to the Chief Executive.
Anima’s 2019 budget is over MOP11.5 million, while its investment budget is MOP1.2 million. The latter will mainly cover the renovation of the shelter, as well as operational costs.
However, Martins said that the funds remain insufficient to take care of canines and felines and continued calling on donors.
“We have asked the CE in a letter that [funding of only] MOP3.8 million in a budget of around MOP11 million is very hard. […] Our request was to approve MOP5 million but this does not mean that our lives will be [easier],” Martins told the Times.
“Our lives are still in hell because our [2019] budget is around MOP11 million and this means that we still have to find a lot of donors for that,” he added.
The animal rights activist recalled that last year’s budget was cut down to around MOP8 million due to insufficient funding, explaining that the association has no capacity to earn more.
Anima also faces a challenge with its investment budget, due to the increasing maintenance requirements of the building.
“We can allocate our resources to find donors but this is not a guarantee. […]
This maintenance [expense] is an investment as we have to build new areas. […] This requires money and we don’t have that,” Martins said, stressing that it would be difficult for him to find a successor.
“It’s very hard and I do not understand why this is not clear for many people in Macau,” he said, noting that no one would want to be his successor without a monthly wage.
In Anima’s letter to the CE, the organization suggested that gaming operators should be linked to the city’s non-governmental associations to assist these organizations in operating.
He hinted that such a move could be a criteria for the tendering of gaming concessions.
“MOP10 million is peanuts for a casino,” he stressed.
In a post on social media, Martins revealed that the public had donated MOP75,673 to the centre in the last three months.
In April last year, Martins announced that the group may have to shut down due to insufficient funding, explaining that it was difficult to balance its annual expenses of MOP10.5 million.
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