Natuurhulpcentrum Opglabbeek

Natuurhulpcentrum Opglabbeek was my first ever visit to an animal facility in Belgium and, to be honest, I wasn't really sure what to expect. It is quite different from the places I normally visit, and my overall impression was simply that it was a rather unusual and interesting place.

For anyone unfamiliar with Natuurhulpcentrum, this is not a zoo but a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre caring for sick, injured, orphaned and otherwise vulnerable animals. They take in both native European wildlife and exotic animals, with many of them staying temporarily while a suitable outcome is found, whether that means release, transfer or rehoming.

The centre seems to be extremely well known in Belgium, although it was surprisingly unfamiliar to me before I started looking into it. There also isn't a huge amount of information, photos or visitor reviews available online, which was one of the reasons I was interested in visiting. I also knew they currently had a few interesting and relatively rare smaller bird species.

I visited during an open day, and one thing I definitely wasn't prepared for was just how busy it would be. There was heavy traffic from all directions, people directing traffic, every parking area seemed to be full, and even nearby car dealerships were packed with visitors. We initially thought there must be some other event going on nearby, but it turned out that all of this was simply because of the open day. 😂 The first section was extremely crowded and at times difficult to move around, although fortunately it became considerably quieter further into the centre.

When it came to the animal facilities, I found things somewhat mixed. Some of the enclosures and aviaries looked very good, particularly those for the eagles, cranes, buzzards and some of the other larger birds. At the same time, there were a few facilities that I personally found less convincing, including the small aviaries housing a macaw and a cockatoo, as well as the bear enclosure. 😬😅

Of course, I also understand that a rescue centre has very different requirements from a zoo. Animals are constantly arriving and leaving, and enclosures cannot necessarily be designed in advance around one particular species. Some animals can also remain at rescue centres for months or even years before a suitable outcome is found. So while I did have some reservations about a few of the facilities, these were simply my personal impressions as a visitor and not a judgement of the work Natuurhulpcentrum does.

This became somewhat of a discussion after I shared my visit on Facebook. Some people criticised the facility itself, while others felt that my post was unfair or overly critical. Some of the criticism was also directed towards me personally and towards my page. The discussion also expanded into various claims and rumours about the centre, so I eventually decided to close the comments once the discussion became too divided. 

There is no doubt that Natuurhulpcentrum does important work, and I have a lot of respect for the people involved and the amount of work that goes into rescuing, rehabilitating and finding suitable outcomes for so many animals.

I would definitely like to return one day, preferably outside of an open day. A quieter visit would make it much easier to properly look around and learn more about how the centre operates, and I think that would give me a much better understanding of the place.