José Villena, retired chief inspector and doctor from UMA, presents his research on the Animal Protector of Málaga, which is celebrating 150 years, this Thursday at the Ateneo. The book reveals that the Málaga entity had a national projection and even a branch in Madrid.
The Animal Protector of Málaga is celebrating 150 years and its history, researched by José Villena, retired chief inspector of the National Police and doctor from the University of Málaga (UMA), will be presented this Thursday, October 1st at 19:00 in the auditorium of the Ateneo de Málaga. Villena, who holds a degree in Philosophy and Letters, has dedicated his retirement to history and knows the entity well: his wife, Carmen Manzano, is the current president. According to Diario Sur, the book states that the Málaga society predates those in Madrid and Barcelona and that it once had a delegation in the Spanish capital.
The origins of the Protector date back to 1876, when the Society for the Protection of Animals and Plants of Málaga was founded, according to the panels at the Botanical Garden of La Concepción and the doctoral thesis of Blanca Lasso de la Vega. The first in Spain had been that of Cádiz in 1872, followed by those in Seville and Málaga, and later in Madrid and Barcelona. Villena explains that the origins are unclear because each source cites a different year, but the Málaga data is documented.
“The Protector of Málaga had a very strong national projection”
The founder, Joaquín García de Toledo, promoted the animal rights movement between 1902 and 1912 with the support of the civil governor Antonio Cánovas Vallejo. He contacted humanitarian societies in France and Belgium and created the Humanitarian School Societies, which were established in Málaga and, with the backing of the Minister of Public Instruction, in Madrid, Ávila, Segovia, Burgos, Valladolid, and Zamora. The Ministry sent a circular throughout Spain to extend them. In 1923, the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera cancelled these associations during the Military Directory.
The Protector also financed and maintained public fountains so that animals could drink, such as the one at Reding, on the road to Vélez, the only one between Málaga and El Palo. In those years, horses were the main focus of protection, as they were pack and draft animals. Interest in dogs came later, and newspapers in the 19th century showed little empathy towards them, with joking comments about horrific deaths.
After the Civil War, starting in 1949, a son of the founder, also named Joaquín García de Toledo, revitalised the entity with a name similar to the current one. The first shelter opened in the Alameda de Capuchinos, the first workers were hired, and a cemetery for dogs was created on the road to San Rafael.
The current Protector was established in 1966. Until 1999, there are no references due to the loss of documentation in a sewage leak at its headquarters in Cruz Verde. That year, the situation was critical: millions in debts with Emasa and Social Security, a shelter in Los Asperones with assaults, legal complaints, frozen accounts, and revocation of public utility status. In 2000, José Carlos Cabra was elected president, who relaunched the entity and managed to move to the current shelter.
The book presentation will be this Thursday, October 1st at 19:00 in the auditorium of the Ateneo de Málaga.
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