On Friday, January 30th, at 12:00 PM, the law requires them to deliver the property,” stated lawyer Fernando Pérez Correa regarding a recent court order that obligates the restitution of the land to the shelter. In response, the lawyer called on the public to join a “party for animal lovers” that day to celebrate the return of the property to the Franciscan Shelter, which has operated for 48 years in the Santa Fe area, in the Cuajimalpa mayoralty, on the west side of the city. In a collective statement, shelter members accused the capital's government of dispossessing and killing hundreds of animals “out of greed.” “Through the use of public force, (the government) abandoned, evicted, mistreated, and brutally murdered hundreds of animals, whose legal and legitimate custody has always and will always belong to the shelter,” they stated. You may be interested | Court orders restitution of property to Franciscan Shelter; Haghenbeck Foundation accuses ‘legal maneuvering’. The land was ceded to the shelter in usufruct by Antonio Haghenbeck and de la Lama, the institution's founder, who died in 1991. Hundreds of people marched this Sunday in Mexico City, as part of a national day of protests, to demand that the court order to return a plot of land to the Franciscan Shelter next Friday, while denouncing a “massacre” of animals during the eviction at the beginning of January. The protest, which started from the Monument to the Revolution and ended at the Zócalo, was led by representatives of the Franciscan Shelter, home to more than a thousand dogs and cats who were expelled from the land they lived on on January 7th, amid a legal dispute over a portion of the property owned by the Haghenbeck Foundation. “It's official. But the legal conflict began in 2021 when its successors went to court, and after a judicial resolution on December 10th, they took control of the property, which led to the eviction a month later.” “It wasn't a rescue, it was a massacre” and “On January 30th we want the property now,” were some of the chants heard during the demonstration. Although authorities recently reported that they are sheltering 858 dogs, the shelter had indicated prior to the eviction that it was caring for over a thousand dogs and 30 cats. According to official figures, 25 dogs and two cats died before and after the operation, and 171 animals—of the 858 in custody—remain sick, with the whereabouts of at least 150 pets still unknown. Among the march attendees, activist Emmanuel León told EFE that this case is a reflection of gentrification and real estate development, which has accelerated housing evictions ahead of the World Cup. For her part, Maribel Lugo, who has adopted several dogs from that shelter, warned that if the restitution of the property is not carried out, the public is preparing actions. “If (the court order is not obeyed) we will prevent the World Cup. We don't mind closing streets and doing everything we have to do,” she warned. EFE
