€ 141,000 energy support for animal shelters in West Flanders

The animal shelters in West Flanders do a fantastic job of taking in neglected, abused, stray or homeless animals. Until a few years ago, the shelters received no government support for this. In 2020, Minister Ben Weyts brought changes here for the first time. Last year the total support amounted to € 1.7 million. On top of that, Weyts is now also allocating extra resources for one-off energy support, after many shelters were also affected by the sharply increased prices.

The shelters that receive energy support include the Blue Cross Bruges (€ 25,000), Hippo Agri from Bruges (€ 13,599), the Blue Cross of the Coast in Ostend (€ 12,750) and vzw Dierenasiel De Cuddle Powjes in Menen (€ 11,228).

“Don’t Leave Out in the Cold”

“Animal shelters do fantastic work, so we don’t want to leave them out in the cold, literally and figuratively,” says Weyts. “The employees and volunteers prevent and remedy a lot of animal suffering. We should also not forget them when the energy bill arrives.”