Good news! The animals return to the animal pasture in the Galecop district. Local residents will celebrate this on Saturday, May 18, with a fun welcome party between 10 a.m. and 12 noon. There are fun activities for the children such as a storyteller and a treasure hunt for animals in the area. There is a quiz about the animal pasture. And everyone can come up with a name for the animals. The jury consisting of residents will choose the best names and announce them on Friday afternoon, May 31 between 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM. The winners have a chance to win a nice prize.
What happened?
Last year, the municipality of Nieuwegein was forced to remove the animals from a number of animal pastures because they became too fat and developed health problems. This was because visitors gave them food such as bread and vegetables. The animals were taken to the petting zoo to get better. Unfortunately, some have passed away. “We would like to bring animals back to the animal meadows, but their health comes first,” the municipality said.
Animals back on two animal pastures
The animals will be returned to two of the five animal pastures in Nieuwegein, namely in Galecop and Jutphaas/Wijkersloot, and a one-year trial will be started. In these neighborhoods there are committed local residents who have contributed ideas and want to help. There are also locks, making it possible to open the animal pastures. If the test is successful and the animals do not become overweight, the animals will also be returned to the other animal pastures. If the animals do become overweight, they must be brought back and reconsidered what can be done.
Control and information
The vet will visit regularly to check whether the animals in the animal pasture are not getting too heavy. ‘We keep track of the weight of each animal and you can look at the new information boards that we place at the animal meadows. There will also be new signs on the fences with information about the animals.’
Active residents group
The residents around the animal meadow want to help and keep an eye on things to prevent the animals from being fed and/or to remove waste from the animal meadows. The residents intend to open the animal pasture to the public occasionally on Friday afternoons between 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM. Everyone is welcome on Friday, May 31st to reveal the names of the animals!
How can you help?
1) Don’t feed the animals! So: do not give the animals bread, fruit, vegetables or anything else. This is all very bad for the animals. It can kill them! Only the manager of the animal meadows may feed the animals.
2) Would you like to join the residents’ group and also keep an eye on the animal meadows? Report to the District Coordinator.
Food scraps in the organic waste container
Would you still like to get rid of your leftover food and give it to a good cause? Then put them in the organic waste container at the animal meadows. We place organic waste containers at the animal meadows specifically to collect food scraps that should not be wasted. Green gas is extracted from these residues and compost is made.
