In the aftermath of August’s Beirut explosion, countless pets were abandoned, wounded – or both.
One of the primary organizations that have been working to rescue and protect these animals is Beirut for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (BETA), which is now itself in need of help.
BETA is facing eviction from the place that currently shelters over 1,000 rescued animals. As a result, the charity is now seeking financial support to set up a new rescue site where they can relocate them and its operation.
“We need a serious injection of funds to survive. We only have about ten percent of our target so far, but if we secure enough money we can move the animals next month and finish our new shelter by mid-January,” John Barret, who runs BETA, told The Daily Mail.
Barret, a 71-year-old British expat, said that £150,000 (approx. $200,000) are needed to rehouse the animals – which are 850 dogs, 350 cats, in addition to 3 horses, a couple of vervet monkeys, and a pelican – before Christmas.
For over a decade, an Armenian businessman allowed the charity to operate their current shelter from a farm he owns near Beirut, free of rent.
This changed in 2017 when he gave the organization 3 months to vacate the farm, which BETA managed to delay before the businessman took the matter to court.
An appeal of the case they lost last year was due in October, but the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation later caused courts to close.
On top of that, after BETA found a new location for the shelter, south of the capital, the economic crisis, and the hyperinflation kicked in, raising costs to a much higher level, in a time when BETA’s work on that new site was only 40% done.
Therefore, it is now urgently appealing for donations to cover the $200,000 needed to have the new shelter, which will run on solar power and include a vet and stables, up and running soon.
Beta is the 1st animal shelter in Lebanon, rescuing dogs, cats, and wildlife who are in life-threatening danger. It is a registered charity (#205/AD) founded in 2004. To help the NGO overcome its current challenge, visit here.