Bethlehem & Gaza
We’re proud to have launched two new partnerships with shelters in Bethlehem and Gaza, where their stray dog population has reached crisis point. Dogs wander the streets in heartbreaking states of ill health and without the infrastructure to cope, people are turning to cruel and ineffective last resorts, such as lethal poisoning and live ammunition. That’s why we’re keen to help however we can.
Wild at Heart Foundation recognises the shared mission of two shelters working tirelessly on the front line: like us, both Bethlehem Animal Shelter and Sulala Society for Animal Care are keen to find long-term solutions. It’s important for us that projects such as these have a lasting impact, ensuring that our funding contributions are allocated where they’ll provide the greatest results. For Bethlehem and Gaza, this means sterilisation; the most effective and compassionate solution to an ever increasing stray dog population.
In early 2020, we sent an emergency donation to cover an urgent need for supplies in response to the detrimental impact of Covid-19. But with over 200 animals between them, we’re keen to help these shelters further. Shelter rebuild projects and sterilisation clinics are already in the planning stages, so it’s only a matter of time before travel restrictions are lifted and we can send a team out there to support further.
Bethlehem Animal Shelter
Bethlehem Animal Shelter is the first and only one of its kind in the West Bank area. Therefore, the care and shelter it provides are very much in demand and is always running at maximum capacity.
The team of local and international volunteers is headed up by the wonderful Diana, who left her job in 2017 to focus full-time on rescuing and rehoming the abused, abandoned and neglected strays of Bethlehem.
Built in 2014, the shelter’s mission has always been to reduce the suffering of stray animals and to advocate for humane solutions, such as rescue, rehabilitation and rehoming. The shelter also advocates for the compassionate, ethical method of sterilisation as a means of getting to the root of Bethlehem’s problem; a route Wild at Heart Foundation are keen to support them with.
Sulala Society for Animal Care
Sulala is located in Gaza, where there is a serious need for more of their kind. Like so many overseas shelters, Sulala is dangerously underfunded and lacks the support of any kind of lawful legislation – for the teams on the ground, it can often feel like fighting a losing battle with so many stray animals needing food, water and medical care.
Our emergency donation was much needed in light of the exacerbating impact that Covid-19 has had on so many shelters around the world. This has gone some way in supporting Sulala with essential supplies. But there is more to be done.
We’re so proud to be working alongside these two incredible shelters, but our work in Bethlehem and Gaza is only just getting started. We look forward to sharing more plans and projects with you in the coming months.