Melief Animal Sanctuary

Stichting Melief is a Dutch foundation, set up in 2003, that gives a permanent home to animals that have been neglected or mistreated, or that have nowhere else to go. Since 2006 it has run a roughly four-hectare former pig and cattle farm in Sögel, just across the German border, which now cares for around 1,250 animals — among them dogs, cats, rabbits, chickens, geese, goats, sheep, cattle, pigs, ponies and donkeys. Animals stay for life rather than being rehomed, and the site is open to visitors every Saturday afternoon from 14:00 to 16:00. The foundation is funded by donations, remote animal adoptions and a small webshop, and holds Dutch ANBI charity status.