Belgian Ambassador steps in to help ACE animal charity

ACE, the registered animal refuge in Mijas that has been threatened with closure, has brought out the big guns in its fight against the local council as the Belgian Ambassador steps in with his support.

After an inspection of the 52 kennels on April 29, owner Tom Vandebroek was told that €50,000 worth of improvements would have to be made within four weeks to comply with new laws. Speaking to the Euro Weekly News Tom said: “They are crazy! We have been working for 15 years and have homed over 17,000 animals. Four weeks isn’t enough time!”

He and a team of volunteers from Holland, Belgium and Spain set to work refurbishing the kennels straight away. “We have had such great support, but it’s just an impossible task to get it done in time,” he said. “We are painting and retiling as I speak.”

However, Tom has recently found out that the Belgian Ambassador has been speaking to the local town hall with a view to extending the “ridiculous” time limit imposed. “I hope he is lucky with the council,” Tom said. “We all hope he is lucky – for the animals’ sake. We should hear something in the next few days,” he added.

PACMA have launched an online petition to help in the fight, at this time it has over 1,100 signatures, and can be found here if you wish to sign:

http://firmas.pacma.es/no-al-cierre-del-refugio-ace-charity-en-mijas/