Hi landlady, my friend went there last week and she said the same, she said that they need all the food and support, as not many people seem to visit in the winter months.
I have been to Benidorm many times but never really seen it advertised, but will make sure i visit next time i go, hope it's not too sad!
crystalscan x

hi crystalscan,we went with the blanket trip and there were only 4 of us on the coach that wanted to visit the sanctury the others wanted the village while we were there we only saw 2 more people walking round i think people only go there who are on the free trips

Does anybody have any idea how much it would cost in a taxi to get there?

Hi fuzzy fell, i'm not sure how much it costs to get there by taxi, i have looked at previous posts and it's not said, as i would proberly get a taxi becouse then you could take tins of food for the animals, like a member has suggested, if it is too expensive i would go on the blanket trip just to get up there!.
sorry i'm not much help
crystalscan xx

have any of you been to El Arca de Noe 'Noahs Ark' ?? its up in the moutains by guadalest. they have so many animals that he has rescued. i often send donations to help him and always visit while im in benidorm. he has a number of animals (monkeys, lion cubs etc) that were bein used for photography to make money, he brings them back to health then slowly returns them to there natural habitat. he is a great man an when people see or hear of animals being mistreated they tell him, and him and his friends try there best to rescue them.

i hate animals being mistreated and i heard a few things about terra natura and thats why i havnt yet visited there.

EDIT: Transferred from the Terra Natura topic
David HT Mod

Hi OwNz babeh,
We visited the sanctuary last year and it was an emotional experience. He does a mrvellous job and we will probably go back again in June.
In two minds what to do about Terra Natura after reading the reviews.

In reference to the Sanctuary....whilst I appreciate this man does a marvellous job, do you not think it is still immoral to allow people to stare at them in cages still? Afterall, these creatures are still in captivity, they are behind bars, and they are being gauped at......have they really escaped persecution?

imo they are treated a milion times better than they were before so living there is like heaven for them compared to there past lives...

some people say its cruel to have people go 'staring' at them all the time but thats how he raises money to provide essentials for the animals to bring them back to health. when i went this year there was a tiger whose leg was near enough hanging off an he had it operated on an now its recovering well. imo he is a great man who loves animals and does a amazing job caring for them. when you go you can see how happy the animals are and how well there being treated. i would much rather they be there than back where they used to live being treated outragously.....

imo they are treated a milion times better than they were before so living there is like heaven for them compared to there past lives...

some people say its cruel to have people go 'staring' at them all the time but thats how he raises money to provide essentials for the animals to bring them back to health. when i went this year there was a tiger whose leg was near enough hanging off an he had it operated on an now its recovering well. imo he is a great man who loves animals and does a amazing job caring for them. when you go you can see how happy the animals are and how well there being treated. i would much rather they be there than back where they used to live being treated outragously.....

To a certain extent I do agree with you. I have been to the Sanctuary to see for myself. However, my point is these animals are STILL being kept in captivity when they are WILD animals and should be out in the wild in their own country of origin. "when you go you can see how happy the animals are". I am not in agreement with you on this. When I went there a few years back, I thought the animals looked far from happy. The tigers looked frail and worn out and very sad. That is how I perceived them, I appreciate you do not agree. But I would definately not say they looked "happy".

These animals are still on 'Public View', they have not escaped from being stared at and gauped at on a daily basis. I appreciate this man is a kind and caring human being, and that he does a lot for these poor creatures. I just question the fact that they are still being kept in what is still, essentially, a Zoo. I appreciate that the money he raises from the small admission fee is used to buy medication and food etc for these creatures but in my humble opinion his Santuary should NOT be open to the general public. At least not every day of the week. Maybe for a few hours one day a week, yes. I could accept that.

In the UK we have similar 'santuarys'. Horse and Pony Santuaries for example. This is where retired horse and old 'Pit' ponies are sent to live out the rest of their lives IN Peace and tranquility. They are certainly NOT on public view on a daily basis. In fact many of these UK based santuaries are so quiet and isolated very few people know about them and that is how it should be.

The Animal Sanctuary in Benidorm is not the same. It is advertised as part of the itinary on FREE Blanket Trips. It is advertised as a Tourist Attraction and that is not right, not IMO.

I too would prefer these creatures to be ANYWHERE other than in a Circus, a Zoo, or a Theme Park or some place else, but you cannot escape the fact that The Animal Sanctuary is still basically to all intents and purposes, a Zoo and these creatures are STILL behind bars STILL being stared at.....and that is what I find so abhorent and cruel.

well i was there on the 23rd march and it wasnt open everyday, it was only two days a week. the animals that look 'far from happy' are really ill, if he didnt have them there looking after there every needs and bringing them back to health then most of them would die. now im sorry that you dont agree but surely anyone would rather these animals be cared for rather than left to die.....

if you listen when you go he fully explains how and what he does for these animals, i was in tears listeining and reading what they had been through.

when we walked up to the lion cubs they all got up an came to the side of the cage whilst the owner an his firend stroked there heads an gave them a drink, it was lovely to see such injured animals looking happy an actually enjoying life.

no matter what anyone says this man does a wonderful job and needs all the help he can get to help animals all over the world.
each time i go (nearly every year) there are animals still there ill and new animals and also animals that have been introduced back into the wild.

i love what they do that much each time i go i leave 100 euros in the basket on the way out, thats no where near enough i know but atleast its something an can help a little bit.

he said the king of spain donates money every year to him as he thinks he is a wonderful man and does a wonderful thing.... if what he was doing was so bad the king of spain would not donate money.....

fully agree with ownez babeh this guy does an excellent job if the animals were just released back into their own habitats without being treated for their injuries and lovingly nursed back to good health before being released then the poor things would die but as ownez babeh says they are released once they are healthy

I appreciate what you are both saying. I also appreciate what this man does for the animals he has rescued. I know what he does and I have listened to his talk. I too was upset by hearing the stories he told. I am an animal lover myself.

But that said, it is still a fact that the Sanctuary is still being run as a Zoo. Animals are being kept in enclosures behind bars with people staring at them. If I was ill and had to go to a place for convalescence, which is basically what these creatures are doing, they are convalescing, I know I would not appreciate being stared at by large groups of well wishers.

I will happily donate to The Sanctuary but I will NOT visit it ever again. I would prefer to leave these poor creatures in peace and to get the rest and recouperation they need. These creatures were used to being stared at and gauped at in other Zoos, Circuses and Street Entertaiment acts. Have you stopped to think how they must be feeling now that they are STILL being gauped and stared at? They want rest, they need to be left alone to do that. Laying in a cage with large groups of human beings staring at them from the other side of the bars might be having a detrimental effect on their recovery.

I do not like Zoos and never have done, and this is probably why I was not very impressed with Terra Natura which is basically another glorified Zoo with a bit of themeing chucked in for good measure. I do not agree with circuses that rely on the use of animals for entertaiment. Street Photographers who use Chimps and Tiger Cubs for to ply their trade are just as abhorent.

Whilst I appreciate the Owners of The Animal Sanctuary are not in this to make money business wise, I just question the way the santuary is operated. You do not need to reply upon paying visitors in order to run such a place. People can make Donations, as they do, or 'adopt' an animal, as I do.

Put yourself in the position of one of those poor creatures. Yes, you may feel safer to a certain extent knowing you are not going to be beaten or paraded around in the heat in front of hundreds of people forced to perform tricks that you were not born to do. But if you are feeling unwell as most of these animals are, would you want to be stared at? I know I would'nt.

to see such injured animals looking happy

I personally saw no evidence of animal contentment whatsover during my visit to The Sanctuary. They looked far from happy when I went there. It actually made me ashamed of myself to be stood there staring and I declined to remain in the santuary once I had seen enough. I still felt very sorry for these creatures and if I could have unlocked those cages and set them free I would have done.

Wild animals are not meant to be kept in captivity. This is just my own opinion which I appreciate is not that of others. But what made me so angry was that the Santuary is being advertised as part of the Green Tour Free Blanket Trip. A tourist attraction, and a Santuary by definition should be anything BUT a 'tourist attraction'.

im sorry that you dont agree but surely anyone would rather these animals be cared for rather than left to die.....

I never once implied that I wanted these poor creatures to be "left to die". But do you not think their recovery might be more speedier if they were not put on show to us humans? If they were left alone to be cared for by this man and his family and staff I am sure they would make a far quiker recovery than they do at the moment. Remember these creatures were used to being beaten by certain low life humans.....they may be laying there in fear that they are about to receive another beating....how can such thoughts aid their recovery?

The reason some of these animals havent been sent back to their natural enviroment is that they simlpy would not survive.One of the tigers had been kept in a small cage for 24years!.He couldnt turn around in it because it was so small.I am sure this tiger is far better off spending the rest of his days at this wonderful place.

.I am sure this tiger is far better off spending the rest of his days at this wonderful place.

Being stared at by hundreds of human beings on a daily basis while 'he' tries to recover from the trauma he/she has been through.

Whilst I appreciate what you are saying and agree that this tiger is far better off where he/she is now than where he/she was....I still do not agree in principle with 'him' being put on public display. I also appredite that being sent back to 'his' natural habit will in all probability finish 'him' off. But that does not deter from the fact that 'he' is still behind bars in a zoo....even if it is a kind zoo with a kind and caring keeper.

What right do human beings have to keep animals locked up behind bars? That is what I find so immoral.

Thanks BHIC ... as your opinions are now well documented in this thread, perhaps we could allow it to drop now.

David

When I visited the Ark the tigers were in large grass enclosures.The reason it is open to the public is because it relies on the money the people pay to visit.If this money was not available it would have to close.When I visited people took blankets,food etc and made extra donations.I think the man who runs the Ark is wonderful.I dont like zoos either and have only visited Gerald Durrells zoo in Jersey as they breed endangered species.

sorry david didnt mean to cause all this... i think my point is accross now. thanks jay for helping me explain etc

I wasn`t going to reply, but here goes.
I detest zoos and I would wipe every circus where animals are used to perform, off the face of the planet, I also have a big "thing" about tigers especially the white tiger, which is not a recognised species and is a genetic mistake that in the wild nature would eradicate, but .
Some zoos have come a long way from the days when animals were kept in atrocious conditions and some species on the verge of extinction have been saved thanks to Zoos.

Zoos that have a programme devoted in breeding species that would otherwise become extinct and then release them back into the wild, are a far cry from the tourists hell holes of years gone by or the zoos which breed animals like the white tiger, and then sell the cubs to other zoos or the money making circus owners, to perform and make big bucks as a "rare" attraction.

Anyone who takes an interest in Spain, will know that they (as a country) have one of the worst animal cruelty records in Europe, and therefore animal welfare is way down on their lists of priorities"¦chickens and goats are still being thrown from towers to celebrate some pagan festival indeed the Spanish National sport of bullfighting is now acknowledge by a vast majority of the people as cruelty, but, bullfighting is a big business with Millions of Euros involved.
An animal has to have a purpose in life"¦"¦if you have a donkey, then it has to work to sustain its keep, if you have chickens, then they are your next meal and so on

This mentality stems back to the days of General Franco who did indeed keep the peasants as peasants, and the said peasants could hardly feed themselves, never mind an animal, which had no purpose.
You also have to look at the history of Spain and the Moorish traditions/influence, including the mark that Islam left on the country and is still evident today.

This man IMO has clearly seen that he will get no financial help from anyone"¦only softhearted animal lovers who come and visit, who happen to be tourists.
If he went around with the begging bowl, then he would get sod all off most people medicines and veterinary bills are as expensive in Spain as they are in the UK, and if it means he has to have tourists gaping at his animals at certain times, to meet their financial upkeep, then so be it.

Sentiments don't cure and pay the veterinary bills of animals who have been traumatised by humans, but at least this human is trying to bring these creatures back to health and health is the first step of any living creatures goal animal or human.

I personally, do not like to see any animal in a cage, but I think you have to look beyond the bars and see what the alternative is for some of these creatures would it be better to humanely put these animals to sleep? Or have a human try and give them some sort of a life, it may not be ideal, but a life is a life and saving a species for future generations.

What other alternative does he have to generate funds.? And the "blanket trip" is one way of promoting his cause and bringing the tourists in"¦with their donations, food, blankets etc....the organisers of the BT also must feel some sentiment to this cause of animal welfare.

whilst I appreciate this man does a marvellous job, do you not think it is still immoral to allow people to stare at them in cages still?

Under the circumstances...NO. ! Get real for goodness sake.
Someone come up with an alternative and I`ll be all ears.

besos xxxx
SanJi

If anyone wants to contact 'The Sanctuary' with offers of Donations, Food, Blankets, etc etc, then 'The Sanctuary' can be contacted by telephone on:-96 597 23 59 (if calling from within Spain) or just add the country code 0034 if calling from outside Spain.

You can e-mail 'The Sanctuary' with your Donation Offers and their address for this purpose is:-

asociacionproarcadenoe@hotmail.com

More information about the Santuary and how you can help the animals can be obtained by sending an E-Mail to this address:-

info@abdet.com

Or you can simply write to them the old fashioned way, if you wish to send Parcels, Food, etc and their Postal Address is:-

Arche Noah, Valle de Guadalest, Benimantell. Espana.