The municipality of Almere has awarded the contract for the shelter of stray animals in Almere to the Animal Protection. The municipality is pleased to welcome the Animal Protection as a partner and looks forward to a fruitful collaboration in the field of animal shelter and animal welfare.
Pets found wandering in Almere have been temporarily sheltered by the Animal Protection since November last year. This temporary solution is necessary because the current shelter building is outdated and needs to be replaced. The building no longer meets the requirements for housing animals. It is also necessary to have a new building for the working conditions of employees and volunteers. Additionally, the city of Almere is expected to grow significantly in the coming years, and the animal shelter must be able to grow along with it.
Last year, the municipality increased the budget for the shelter of stray animals by 200,000 euros per year. Unfortunately, this is not enough to build a new facility. Therefore, the municipality had to look for a partner who can not only professionally carry out the shelter and care for animals but also build a new facility. The tender for this assignment has now been completed. Alderman Jesse Luijendijk: “I am pleased that we can now work together with the Animal Protection towards a future-proof animal shelter. This is an important step in further strengthening animal welfare in the city.”
Ellen Bien, director-manager of the Animal Protection, is happy with this step. “Of course, animals in Almere and the surrounding area must be able to count on receiving the care they deserve. We are happy to contribute to that. Almere is an important city for the Animal Protection, where we are already active with our animal ambulance and our national control room. We are proud of this collaboration.”
The old animal shelter has now been permanently closed. Stichting Dierenasiel Almere (SDA), the organization that ran the shelter for the past 25 years, chose not to participate in the tender. The municipality of Almere is grateful to the SDA for their many years of loving and dedicated commitment to the shelter of animals in Almere.
In the coming months, plans to realize a new shelter at the familiar location of the old shelter on Groene Kadeweg in Almere Buiten will be further developed, ensuring high-quality and affordable animal shelter in Almere for the future.