Animals,  Spain

The Animal Academy – a refuge

Before we left, we had the chance to visit what is probably the only farm animals sanctuary in Fuerteventura, The Animal Academy. I heard about them at Delicias y Namàstè, a restaurant where we enjoyed lunch the day we arrived at Fuerteventura. So I got in touch and arranged for a visit. On the day of our visit, we left from Corralejo in the northern part of the island and after a nice drive through the La Olivia and Betancuria regions, we arrived at The Animal Academy in the evening. We were first greeted by the canine residents, including a very enthusiastic Yorkie named Bola, and then we met the guys behind the sanctuary!

Belén Roca, founder of The Animal Academy, takes us around for a small tour, introducing us to all the animal residents and tells us their stories. There were pigs, donkeys, goats, sheeps, chickens, ducks, geese, other birds and also some resident felines. Most of the rescued animals came from the same island and were found in miserable situations. For example, one of the donkeys had been tied up in one place for a long time before being rescued. He couldn’t even walk. They are now doing well.

animal academy bola
Bola, a previously abandon pet, now lives at The Animal Academy.

Next, the fun part – setting two very hyper kids loose, at feeding time. These two are the rescued lambs Talisman and Sira. Both are only months old and require feeding about once in every few hours. Taking care of babies is a lot of work! The moment they were let out of their pen they started bounding up and down. Totally delightful sight. They didn’t stay still for a moment! Find a short clip of that below.

At The Animal Academy, animals are provided with necessary veterinary care, food and shelter. The guys are also doing a great job of educating others, giving talks at institutions, promoting veganism etc. They are relatively new, check out their Instagram and website (in Spanish) for more information and give them your support. If you ever plan to visit the Canary Islands, consider volunteering as they need a lot of help. You can stay on site for a couple of weeks or months and help them with taking care of the animals. We hope more such sanctuaries thrive and many more animals are rescued.

vegan animal academy
With Sira and Talisman.

Last updated on January 11th, 2024

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