FAQ

Questions about PAL

PAL, Palestinian Animal League, is an animal advocacy organization working to improve the lives of animals, particularly stray and working animals, in the occupied West Bank through spay and neuter, animal adoption, and educational programs.

PAL consists of one full-time staff member, 4 part-time staff members, and countless volunteers in Palestine and abroad.

Please fill out the Volunteer Form pinned on our Facebook and website.

PAL is located in Ramallah Tahta, in the Al Omari Mosque neighborhood, take a right turn and go straight after one block. You will see a sign that leads to our location. You will need to continue walking past two houses since cars do not fit in our road.

No, unfortunately. PAL currently only has one office in Ramallah. However, we do have other groups that function in other cities, and in Al-Najah University, Birzeit University and other small groups like (Sulala) in Gaza. We also cooperate with the animal shelter located in North Asira (Daily Hugs).

No, PAL is not shelter. Though we have hopes to become one in the future, our current space does not allow for us to host many animals at once. 

Please contact us with your name, contact information, and ideas. We will get back to you shortly.

Please contact us with your name, contact information, and ideas. We will get back to you shortly.

Check our social media for announcements about our clinic days. Once the dates are posted, you can contact us with your name, contact information, animal, and reason for visit to confirm your appointment.

You can visit our location to drop cash donations in our donation box. 

Questions about pets

We recommend checking PAL’s Facebook page or contacting us for any animals we know of that available for adoption. You can also go to one of only two animal shelters in Palestine: Animal and Environmental Association of Bethlehem or Hiba Shelter in Hebron. 

Currently, we do not charge an adoption fee. However, we do have an adoption application that must be filled out in our office to confirm the intention of the adopter. Additionally, we require that the person to buy materials and food for the animal prior to taking the animal home.

We believe that animals are living autonomous beings, not to be bred, bought, and sold against their will. Supporting pet shops means that many great animals will continue to suffer and live low quality lives in Palestine.

Once you adopt a pet, make a visit to your local vet for its vaccines, microchip, and schedule an appointment for its spay/neuter operation.

We encourage you to think deeply about the reasons why you can no longer keep the animal and whether all options have been exhausted. If afterwards, we believe that the reason is legitimate, we will use our resources and efforts to rehome your animal.

Certainly. Availability is not always guaranteed but message us with your name, contact information, date of travel, animal description, and needs. 

Questions about street animals

Do not get near the mother or litter. This is a very precious time for everybody involved. If you want to help, you can leave food and water in a nearby area for the mother.

Do I not get near the litter. The mother most likely went to find food or look for a new shelter for the kittens. If after a few days the mother does not return, you can get milk that is safe for kittens, from a pet shop, and bottle feed the kittens.

Do I not get near the litter. The mother most likely went to find food or look for a new shelter for the puppies. If after a few days the mother does not return, you can get milk that is safe for kittens, from a pet shop, and bottle feed the puppies.

Depending on the situation of the animal, call a local veterinarian or your local civil defense team for instructions and support.

Of course! Make sure you schedule an appointment with your local veterinarian as soon as possible to ensure the animal is at optimal health.

You can certainly bring it into your home and adopt it. If that’s not possible, you can create a safe shelter for it outside your home and provide food and water daily. Also, make sure to make an appointment with your local veterinarian to ensure the animal is dewormed, vaccinated, spayed/neutered, and rid of fleas to ensure it lives the best possible life with you.

Please send all information you have to our Facebook page with the city’s name, mayor’s name, link to the announcement, and intended date. We will then work together to pressure the city to cancel its killing rampage. You can also visit your local municipality office with a group of people that are also concerned about the issue, and pressure them into stopping this killing rampage. 

Depending on the situation, you can contact the PAL team to help relocate the animal to a safer environment or take the animal in yourself. You can also contact us about holding an event about animal rights and welfare in your neighborhood. You can also try to reason with them.

You can contact the PAL page with your name, contact information, location, and animal description to help connect you with an adopter.

Currently, the PAL team is not qualified or always available to rescue all animals. We rely on the work of many good citizens to take care of the animals living near their home, school, and workplace. 

Currently PAL does not have the proper infrastructure to take in animals. We rely on the work of our volunteers to help foster and socialize an animal in their home. 

Stray dogs in Palestine are typically very friendly. Do not run, scream, or throw something at it in hopes of getting it away. Leave it be. Check out the link below for more information about this subject.

Questions about veganism

Veganism is a lifestyle that seeks to exclude of exploitation and cruelty of animals for food, clothing, recreation, or another purpose. To be vegan means to avoid animal flesh and byproducts from your diet as well as not using items such as leather for your clothes, furniture, and accessories. 

PAL’s work focuses on creating a better world for animals in Palestine. These animals are not limited to cats and dogs, but also include cows, chickens, rabbits, bees, and fish. We believe we do not have the moral right to end an animal’s life for our taste palate nor do we believe that animals exist to serve us. PAL expands on this philosophy through its values for equality and dignity regardless of one’s religion, gender, race, or individual beliefs and practices. 

If you’re serious about protecting the environment from climate change, the most important thing that you can do is stop eating meat, eggs, and dairy “products”. Here is why. According to the UN, raising animals for food is “one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems from every scale, local to global.” An Oxford University study, published in the journal Climatic Change, shows that meat-eaters are responsible for almost twice as many dietary greenhouse-gas emissions per day as vegetarians and about two and a half times as many as vegans. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has shown that animal agriculture is globally the single largest source of methane emissions and that, pound for pound, methane is more than 25 times as effective as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in our atmosphere.

There are many things humans do that are “against nature,” such as driving cars and using technology. However, the factory farming and livestock industry according to a UN report that said that the top contributors to most environmental problems from local to global scales, are practically a war on nature. So in reality, eating meat is much more destructive to nature than the fallacy that since humans ate animals before, they should continue to do so. Additionally, nature and religion did not give us the teeth, nails, speed, and strength to hunt animals individually. Fortunately, we live in a society where we can easily get all the nutrients we need without harming animals and destroying the planets.

We have found the most vegan friendly supermarkets carrying vegan milks, cheeses, and other products are Saleh Khalaf by Al Manara, Max Mar on Ersal Street, and Karaz on Nablus Street in Ramallah. Power Herb in Bet Jala is a speciality health store and Jumbo Supermarket in Bet Jala has vegan health products. Balady supermarket in Bet Hanina has vegan food products.

We are working on a list of vegan friendly restaurants in Palestine. Stay tuned.

Yes! A plant based diet is the only diet clinically proven to reverse diseases including diabetes and heart disease. Here is how a vegan diet can benefit your health. Removing animal flesh in your body will lower your rate of cancer, as processed  meats are classified, along with smoking, as carcinogens. Animal foods are low in potassium and raise blood pressure while plant foods are high in potassium and lower blood pressure. Plant food will lower your cholesterol because no plant carries cholesterol. Additionally, plants help regulate blood sugar by providing the fiber to slow down sugar absorption.

That’s great! You are taking an immeasurable step to help animals and the planet. Join the Vegan Palestine group to connect with local vegans and keep in touch with the PAL Facebook page to stay up to date on vegan events.

Cows, like all other mammals, do not lactate naturally. They lactate when pregnant and breast-feeding their offspring. In today’s factory farming industry, after giving birth, the cows are separated from their mothers immediately after birth and killed for the veal industry. After the mothers are milked until they physically cannot produce milk, they are sent for slaughter for their body to be used as meat.

Fish, like humans and other land animals, can feel pain, show fear, and exhibit empathy. According to the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization, “over 70% of the world’s fish species are either fully exploited or depleted.” Current fishing methods are just unsustainable for the well-being of our oceans.