There’s a charity caring for lost and abandoned pets who urgently need all our help.  

It’s based in Lebanon, and it’s the Beirut for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (BETA). The charity has six staff and it relies on volunteers and international donations.  Today, it featured in the Mail on Sunday who ran an article about it and the help it needs.

It houses 850 dogs, 250 cats, three horses, two vervet monkeys and a pelican.

Not only that, the charity’s volunteers give food and medical care to all the strays roaming Beirut.

Dogs and cats in Beirut need help

As you know, there was a huge blast in Beirut in August when 2,700 tons of combustible chemicals stored at the port exploded.

The result was that 200 people were killed.  Thousands more were made homeless.  And BETA’s teams are searching for dogs and cats who were very distressed and ran away from the explosion area.  At the same time, many cats and dogs have been abandoned because of the financial crisis.  BETA estimate there are about 150,000 strays in the city of Beirut. 

BETA has a Crowdfunder

BETA has issued an urgent appeal – they need to complete a new rescue centre.  

With everything that’s going on – the explosion, the economic crisis and COVID-19, progress on the building has been slow.  The fully equipped stable and a monkey enclosure have been built.  Work is going on to finish the dog kennels – and the area for seniors.

£150,000 is urgently needed to finish it for the rescue dogs, cats and other animals before Christmas because they are being evicted from the current shelter.   And there is a need to provide for the animals’ basic needs such as food and medical care and to carry out their daily tasks. 

Please help provide these animals with the safe haven they deserve.  They have been through enough and need help.

If you have a cat or a dog, why not make a donation on their behalf and give cats and dogs in Lebanon a safe haven!

BETA is now a 501(c)3 charity organization registered in the USA. Tax identification number: 83-2075807

Please donate to the crowdfunder with GoFundMe

There’s also a wishlist on BETA’s website and you can find out more about the charity here.

Don't miss this: 

On Monday 12 October at 9pm on ITV, the comedian John Bishop follows two beluga whales as they are released an entertainment park in China, where they were being held in captivity.

The whales are returned to the wild after an epic journey to the Icelandic beluga whale sanctuary.

This is a two part series and you can see the second episode on Tuesday 13 October, also at 9pm.

Find out more about the programme here 

Find out about the Beluga Whale Sanctuary here 

Support Little White and Little Grey here.

Help whales:

Whale and Dolphin Conservation (UK)

Whale and Dolphin Conservation (US)

Whale Conservation

Pacific Whale Foundation

Ocean Alliance - Whale Research and Conservation

Galapagos Conservation Whale Shark Project

Great Whale Conservancy

ORCA - protecting whales in UK and European waters

If you're looking for a way to spend your evenings as the nights start drawing in (it's getting dark as I type this and it's only 8pm), then how about doing some knitting or crochet to help working horses and donkeys?

The Brooke is looking for people to knit and crochet!  They've created exclusive knitting and crochet patterns so that you can make a donkey!

You can donate your donkey back to The Brooke to help them raise money for the horses, donkeys and mules who are working so very hard to help their owners and communities at the moment.  

They have other ways you can help as well, such as having a clear out and selling your stuff for The Brooke, holding a virtual quiz, make some arts and crafts to sell, and share the delights of your garden - all ways to raise money for horses, donkeys and mules.

Click your needles and head off to The Brooke to find out more.