ReachExtra
Pamela Joy Merchant moved from London to live in La Línea, where she founded ‘The Animal Collective’, an organisation which works with animal protection centres and focuses on spreading awareness.
Pamela Joy Merchant is a Brit with a Welsh father and a German mother, who left London nearly seven years ago to live in La Línea. She was looking for a quiet life in the countryside surrounded by animals, something she found in El Zabal; “a luxury”, as she says.
She is an English, Spanish, and German teacher, she is also a DJ, a Zumba instructor, and Reiki teacher, and she really loves animals.
“I do a bit of everything and now, with everything I’ve learned throughout my life I can channel into helping animals,” she tells Reach-Alcance in her strong Andalusian accent.
Her passion for animals led her to create the non-profit association, ‘The Animal Collective’ (TAC), an organisation that plans and organises physical and personal assistance, through partners and volunteers, to animal protection centres all over Campo de Gibraltar and Gibraltar.
The ultimate goal is to reduce and, over time, eradicate animal abandonment and abuse in the region.
They organise fundraising events and activities to buy the necessary products required by protection centres and associations that are dedicated to the protection of the fauna and environment of Campo de Gibraltar.
Pamela says that one of the issues protection centres face is a lack of volunteers.
“TAC was established to help cover some of the needs that the protection centres have, to get where they cannot with support in education, transportation, logistics, fundraising etc… We have a group of people and we provide logistical and practical assistance to the protection centres of the region for such issues as transport to airports for adoptions or maintenance and repairs in the protection centres. We collaborate with everyone equally.”
Pamela’s goal, along with those who accompany her in this noble adventure, is to unite all the protection centres throughout the Campo de Gibraltar. “Unity is strength.” We have to think about the future,” she says.
“I have worked with many protection centres and the problem is always the same: the abandonment of animals does not diminish, and the mistreatment continues. The only way to change this is to educate new generations,” she adds.
Educating and raising awareness for animals and the environment is another pillar of TAC.
“At the moment we are planting the seeds. Maybe we will not live to see the changes, but it will happen if we make the next generation aware,” she adds.
Proper law enforcement and tougher sanctions for those who abandon their pets or mistreat animals is fundamental according to the president of TAC.
On the positive side of this struggle is the willingness to help that has been shown by the people of the Campo de Gibraltar:
“People give a lot. We once asked for a table for the market and we were given three. We asked for a van and we got one. Just think. People want to help, and we have to give them all the facilities so they can do it.”
Another objective is to provide workshops in schools.
“Responsibility is the ability to respond. It is very important to explain this to young people. Each person has the power to respond, to take action, to contribute, or not. Most do nothing in the face of the minority that abuses animals. The intention of TAC is to encourage the majority she concludes, adamant that things must change.”
To volunteer or help out the TAC you can contact them through their Facebook page ‘The Animal Collective’ or via Instagram
