| Home |
| About us |
| Support us |
| News updates |
| Contact us |
| Newsletter sign up |
| Links |
| Sitemap |
You are viewing: » Home » News updates » Welcome to Wetnose Animal Aid - Latest projects
Le Chat Mon Ami - Normandie Cat Refuge
"Vive le diference" is a familiar expression often applied to the many enjoyable experiences had when visiting France. There is unfortunately one notable experience that many visitors from the UK will often find disturbing, if not distressing, and that is the perceived attitude towards animal welfare, most noticeably affecting cats and dogs, in rural France.
One French lady feels so strongly about the plight of all uncared for animals that she has devoted her life to helping them. Madame Angelique Bellin lives and works within the department of Manche, a few kilometres from the ferry port of Cherbourg. Angelique entered college to become a veterinary surgeon but quickly realised that the frequent necessary task of having to ‘put down' sick animals was something she found too distressing and reluctantly switched her studies to law. This has proved to be something of a blessing as she has become a well-known manager of a busy insurance office and with her excellent command of English, has become a welcome magnet for the many British residents in the area.
Angelique opened her Cat Refuge in July 2004 in a field adjacent to her little cottage. The initial construction work used every last centime of her savings, and every available spare moment her father and a few close friends could provide with the endless manual labour. Her initial orphans included a fox, five dogs, a donkey, three sheep, a pheasant and various other creatures in need of a home. The primary purpose of the refuge is for cats however, and is currently home for more than 200 of them in all conditions. During the last four years she has found good homes for a similar figure to both French and British families all over France.
The Refuge is certified by the French equivalent of the RSPCA called the Direction des Services Veterinaire, who visit and inspect the facilities twice a year and provide Madame Bellin with her DSV certificate, a legal requirement not dissimilar to the UK. She is fortunate to have an excellent veterinary practise close to her home as many of the new arrival cats are in a very poor condition. The vet has now treated more than four hundred cats, some more than once. All new arrivals are given a basic course of inoculations and all ‘toms' are castrated. The huge cost of this work is paid for by Angelique out of her monthly salary; in addition she personally funds the food and heating bills which amount to approximately 1,200 Euros every month.
There are many stories of Angelique's desperate missions to rescue cats trapped in terrible circumstances. These include her and two friends climbing at night onto the metal warehouse roofs of the enclosed Cherbourg ferry terminal to trap abandoned cats, many with collars, abandoned by their owners when finding they require animal passports to enter Britain! And of her desperately trying to save kittens and adult cats left in weighted bags to drown in rivers and streams, or, as on one terrible occasion, being dumped in an oil drum filled with old engine oil. Sadly there are all too many other shocking instances to recount, but they make Angelique all the more determined to keep up her work and extend the Refuge to accommodate more animals in need.
The cat Refuge requires regular sponsorship and funding if it is to keep up this important work. Current projects include the construction of an on site hospital to include convalescence and isolation areas. This will enable less movement of sick animals to the Veterinary Clinic and also to enable the vet to conduct more treatment at each visit. There is also a vital requirement for a new chalet with infrared heating, climbing frames to keep the cats occupied and the ever present need for food.
If you would like to help Le Chat Mon Ami by sponsoring one of our cats, making a donation or feel you can help in some other way, please Email Lindsay Hobart on lindsayhobart@orange.fr we really do need to hear from you, or contact the Refuge direct at the address below:
Mme Angelique Bellin
Les Trois Maisons
50310
Montebourg
France
Mobile 0634 391878
L'Association No. 050200556
Le Sous-Prefet de Cherbourg
Also See
