VeggieGlobal Appeals and Useful Connections

The following appeals relate to current issues and cries for help from small organisations around the world, including appeals and campaigns run by VeggieGlobal and Looking-Glass.

Esther's Cat Rescue

In every city and countryside we see stray cats. These are often cats that have been abandoned; they are nervous and shy and their offspring is wild. Many are doomed to lead a short and miserable life and because nobody cares about them - a shortage of food, shelter and medical help - this leads to illness and death at a young age. Very often these stray cats are caught and killed (for no one wants to adopt a wild cat) or shot by hunters. However, in some European countries stray cats in some areas are neutered and then released again.
This also happens in Belgium where Esther de Schoenmaeker lives. In her country she convinces the city councils that it's best to catch and neuter the stray cats. The cities pay for the veterinary costs while Esther catches all the stray cats, brings them to the vet for neutering, then she releases them again at the spots where she caught them. In doing so, Esther catches between 500 and 600 stray cats a year all by herself and without funding.
Throughout the years Esther has caught and released thousands of stray cats. She loves animals and is very gifted in dealing with cats, and because she meets so many of them, she also encounters some that can't be set free anymore; cats that are very ill and need a lot of personal care and disabled cats who won't be able to look after themselves anymore. Esther also takes care of these wild and disabled cats that no one wants, and she certainly won't euthanize them when they have a chance to survive in her shelter. So, the stray cats with disabilities, like missing a leg or even eyes, find a loving home in her house and garden. At this moment 48 cats lead a happy life in her shelter while she also feeds another 50 homeless cats everyday at several places.

Esther is a modest and selfless person who finds it difficult to ask for money to help her work. We recognize her as a thoroughly worthy person who needs all the financial help she can get. In line with the VeggieGlobal and Looking-Glass mission, we make a point of focusing our appeals on small "in-the-field" causes who we know do exactly what they claim to do, and in the most effective way. In our experience individuals like Esther are often far more focused on their dedicated cause and therefore entirely worthy of donations, unlike many of the questionable big-buck organizations with charitable status.
At the moment your for Esther's work will help towards a new garden enclosure, (which costs a lot of money). Her disabled cats must be able to lead a safe and happy life inside and outside her house, so the cat enclosure must be of good quality. Of course, money is always needed for medical care, cat food and cat litter.
Please use this PayPal button below to donate directly to Esther's rescue. Our VeggieGlobal friend Marleen Drijgers (an equally caring animal rescuer) is collecting these donations on behalf of Esther, and you can be rest assured that Esther's cats will receive the best care through every penny of your kindness.

Thank you.

An excellent newsletter for people bereaved due to the loss of an animal

For those of you suffering from bereavement due the loss of an animal, the newsletter "Departed Friend" provides a wonderful collection of articles and useful resources which should help you through such difficult times.
Highly recommended by VeggieGlobal.
To apply for a newsletter please

Farplace Animal Rescue

Farplace is a no-kill sanctuary situated in Sidehead, Co Durham, England. VeggieGlobal has high regard for their well-balanced philosophy in animal welfare management. Farplace have recently lost their informative web-site which has led to a dramatic loss in s. While they are attempting to rectify the problem we would like to turn your attention to some of the current animals in their care which need re-homing. These include cats and kittens, rabbits, chinchillas and ex battery hens. Farplace like to get to know prospective owners for their rescued animals and a vet reference may also be required.
They also run a recycling scheme for toner cartidges and mobile phones so please keep them in mind when disposing of these items. Amongst other fund-raising activities, Farplace are always looking for sponsors for the annual Great North Run.

This is Luke. He is a neutered adult male cat who came into farplace in October 2008. He is a sweet-natured cat who has been a loving companion to somebody. Before he arrived, he had been living rough for about a month in the Bishop Auckland, County Durham area. Please contact Farplace on 01388 517397 if you know him.

You can get in touch with Farplace now through their temporary web page at www.farplace.co.uk.
They will be most grateful for any help you can give. See more ...

LaFAN (Lost and Found Animals Network)

LaFAN (UK and Ireland) is a simple cross-linking system designed to enable anyone who has lost or found an animal to easily track down the "lost and found" web-page of an animal rescue place nearest to them. It's non-partisan, free for animal rescues to join and free the public to use without any registering or other unnecessary fuss. LaFAN was launched in 2007 but it is with great disappointment that since then hardly any animal rescue has joined the system, which has been hailed by the public and animal academics as a long overdue, no-nonsense lost and found on-line network. After LaFAN contacted hundreds of animal rescue centres and on-line lost and found registers to invite them to link up with the network only three responded. Within just a few weeks of these few joining the system, two dogs where found via LaFAN and reunited with their owners. This proved that LaFAN's simple back and forth linking system works flawlessly and effectively, showing that if all the animal rescues with websites linked in to LaFAN, thousands of lost animals each year will be reunited with their owners quickly and efficiently. LaFAN is appealing to the public to remind animal rescue places in their area to join LaFAN's free and simple network. It's unified linking system gives rescue places worthy publicity for taking part in a program which has no strings attached, and which clearly has the potential to help the plight of hundreds of lost animals daily.

LaFAN can be found at www.looking-glass.co.uk/lafan
or www.veggieglobal.com/lafan