“I am passionately angry at the situation.” Peter Vereijken, chairman of the Stroomdal animal pasture in Beilen, makes no bones about it. The VAT increase on animal feed from 9 to 21 percent is causing financial problems in an already uncertain time.
Two volunteers lift bags full of feed from a trailer. “We do shopping every two weeks. The freight is now more than 60 euros more expensive compared to last year,” Vereijken explains. “This month we spend more than 1,500 euros on feed. We receive about 3,000 euros in subsidy annually from the municipality of Midden-Drenthe. So we can feed the animals for another two months and then that’s the end of it.”
Petting zoos are not automatically eligible for funds or subsidies. This is possible if, for example, they have a social function. This is the case in the case of the Stroomdal in Beilen. 70 volunteers work there. These are the elderly, people with social problems and also people who are at a distance from the labor market.
“And the youth,” Vereijken beams proudly. “Every weekend, young people from the neighborhood come to help. At home it is a battlefield in the kitchen when they make a sandwich; here they tidy up everything neatly.” The young people also receive courses such as first aid and dealing with people with dementia. “And the nice thing is: when they finish their work on Saturday, they hitch the donkey to the cart and take a ride through the neighborhood. Then everyone can get on.”
Thanks to this social function, the petting zoo receives money from the business community, the province and the municipality. But the municipality’s budget is under pressure. And so the chairman fears for the future of the animal pasture, which is loved by the neighborhood.
“If the funds disappear, we will be in dire straits. Then we see no other solution than that we have to stop. With this we not only lose a petting zoo, but also the neighborhood.”
At the De Beestenbult petting zoo in Hoogeveen they are also noticing the consequences of the increase in VAT on feed. For that reason, they purchased a year’s worth of feed in December. “The local farmers are also very supportive of us,” says Linda Thalen of De Beestenbult. But she also fears for the future. “We will notice next year how high our costs will become.”
Fortunately, thanks to subsidies, the board of the petting zoo in Beilen has some fat on their bones to be able to survive for a while. “If you keep animals, you must have the guarantee that you can feed them. We have saved enough money to be able to do that until the spring of 2028. But after that the guarantee ends.”