Every year in Ibiza, hundreds of animals are rescued by a clutch of selfless individuals and associations. Dogs, hedgehogs, pigs, horses and cats are taken to these loving new homes, where they’ll find air conditioning, swimming pools and organic food. Ibiza, animal kingdom.
Adila Hiam is an Englishwoman who is devoted to saving one of the island’s native animal species: the hedgehog. Hiam shares her home with over 20 of these mammals, sheltering them in her custom-built ‘hogspital’. Here, the hedgehogs are kept safe and sound while recovering from accidents or receiving the medical treatment that Hiam herself offers. In this clean, air-conditioned space, they are protected from noise, vaccinated and, above all, treated with love. Hiam is on the lookout for volunteers – these gentle-looking spike-covered creatures may need you.
Jacqui Bernier’s mission in Ibiza is to catch, sterilise and release as many cats as she can, in order to reduce the number of strays on the island. Bernier started the project in 2000 and has already neutered over 16,000 felines. Care4Cats also vaccinates more than 200 street cats each year and rescues animals that have lost their homes, offering them medical treatment if necessary, before finding them a new home, either on the island or abroad.
At Ibiza Can Musón, cows, sheep, pigs and chickens are raised outdoors in an environment that is totally free of chemicals and pesticides. Seeing them enjoying the countryside is enough to make you understand that, behind this happiness, there is a team of deeply committed people. María Marí, born in Ibiza and with many generations before her, is the founder of Can Musón. A woman who fights tirelessly for the empowerment of women in the countryside and in rural life.
Associació Oficial de Criadors des Ca Eivissenc
This association safeguards the endemic hunting dog known as the podenco Ibicenco. This native Ibizan canine breed is outstandingly elegant and has a keen sense of sight and well-developed hearing. They are professional escape artists. You can’t keep a podenco home for long because, by nature, he is a hunter. The Associació Oficial de Criadors des Ca Eivissenc protects the breed, which, according to scholars, is genetically related to the primitive dogs of the Middle East.
* This article was published in Nativ Ibiza Magazine, in August 2019.
