BelseleThe obligation to house poultry for poultry can no longer be maintained for animal shelter Rata’s Animal Shelter in Belsele. “The breeding season is approaching and the hormones are kicking in. Too many chickens in a small place is no longer justifiable,” says manageress Ines Nicque. The shelter now wants to build a large aviary that spans its entire outdoor area.
In November of last year, the obligation to keep poultry in cages was not good news for Rata’s Animal Shelter shelter in Moortelhoekstraat. The organization has been taking care of disabled and neglected animals for ten years, and overnight had to remove all its chickens, geese and turkey from the large free-range area around the central building. “We divided the animals into smaller compartments where we shielded them with a net,” says manager Ines Nicque. “That is one of the rules that should prevent bird flu from breaking out through contact with infected birds. In the meantime, we are almost five months further, and the situation can no longer be sustained. Our poultry sit together in a much too small space, which is not pleasant for them. The breeding season starts and the hormones play up. Those are not good conditions for keeping chickens together. There are quarrels among the animals and that is not good for anyone. In addition, the small spaces mean that everything is recreated in a mud puddle. That too is no longer justifiable.”
Rata’s Animal Shelter now wants to use the large resources to give their chickens free range again. “We want to turn our entire outdoor area, which is 300 square meters in size, into an aviary,” explains Ines. “This would allow our forty chickens, turkeys and geese, together with our billy goats, pigs and sheep, to roam freely outside again. Just like the outdoor animals are shielded in a zoo.”
The aviary must be large and above all very sturdy. “An unstable construction would quickly fall prey to the wind that has free rein here,” it sounds. “We are going to have to install an aviary that is at least high enough for a person to walk around in and that rests on five metal poles. Woodwork is not an option because that would be bitten by the goats. Just like nets, if they were hung too low, they would be bitten through. By building a new outdoor construction, we want to build a permanent solution for the recurring obligation to cage. People who can help us build the aviary or have tips for its construction are more than welcome.”
Rata’s Animal Shelter currently shelters about 120 animals. They will not be relocated, but have their permanent home in the center. “We are celebrating our tenth anniversary this year,” says Ines. “We had planned to hold a large open day, but we did not organize it due to the corona crisis.”
Information: ratasanimalshelter.com or 0468/15.46.66
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