Our Brussels-based animal shelter offers guided group visits by appointment, aimed at raising awareness about animal welfare and respect for nature.
These visits are exclusively for organized groups and are always led by a member of our team, to ensure a safe, educational, and well-supervised experience.
We welcome a wide range of groups, including:
– schools (primary and secondary), as part of educational programs related to the environment or animal protection;
– non-profit organisations and associations active in the social, cultural, or educational sectors;
– day centres or care institutions working with vulnerable individuals;
– companies, as part of corporate social responsibility initiatives or team-building activities;
– and any other structured group interested in learning more about our shelter and the cause of animal welfare.
👉 To arrange a visit, please contact us using the form below or by email at info@veeweyde.be.
In order to guarantee a high-quality welcome for school groups while ensuring the smooth running of the shelter, guided tours are only available at a fixed time slot on Tuesdays from 11:00 to 12:00.
🎓 Objectives of the visits:
- To understand how a shelter works.
- To raise awareness of animal welfare and respect.
- To discover the animals housed there.
We welcome groups from September to December and from March to June, subject to the availability of the supervisory team and upon reservation via our registration form below.
Please note:
- Visits last no more than one hour and must be conducted in a calm manner. Clear and strict instructions are given at the beginning of each visit.
- We limit visits to one school per week in order to respect the welfare of the animals staying with us.
- Groups who wish to do so can organise a collection of food or equipment and donate it to the animals.
- They can also choose to help our shelter in a symbolic way by making a small donation of 1 euro.
How does a visit work?
- Out of respect for the animals and to ensure a high-quality experience, we have set a maximum number of 20 participants.
- Children must be at least 6 years old.
- The visit lasts one hour.
- Upon arrival, participants are first welcomed in our multipurpose room, where we give them an overview of our activities. We outline the topics that will be covered throughout the visit and explain the safety rules to be followed in the shelter to both children and adults.
- We discuss the concept of consent by explaining how to approach an animal and interpret its behaviour. In the cattery, it is possible to pet the most sociable cats. Visitors are therefore expressly asked to remain calm and be as gentle as possible.
- After greeting the rabbits, rodents, goats and sheep, we watch a dog and a carer interact in one of our secure parks.
- The visit ends in our multipurpose room, where there is an opportunity to ask questions.
❗ Please note that we do not organise community service days or volunteer days for students under the age of 18.
For safety and animal welfare reasons, visitors are not permitted to feed the animals, clean their living areas or walk the dogs, either in our secure parks or outside the shelter.
These activities require specific skills: our volunteers undergo internal training to learn how to interact properly with the animals and recognise their signals. Being a volunteer walker or carer requires in-depth knowledge of animal behaviour and strict adherence to our protocols.
These precautions are designed to protect visitors as well as to preserve the peace and safety of our animals, who are often vulnerable due to their past experiences.