Animal rescue centre run by West Sussex family given funding to keep it going
The One Voice for Animals UK Appeal was set up to help centres struggling because of the COVID-19 crisis.
Last updated 6th Nov 2020
A small West Sussex animal rescue centre has been given important funding to keep it going.
Sompting Wildlife Rescue is run by Pete Foggan, his wife and children.
They care for around 80 animals including hedgehogs, pigeons and seagulls.
The centre has been receiving help from the One Voice for Animals UK Appeal to help them afford food and provide shelter.
Pete told Greatest Hits Radio it has been a busy time for them:
"As lockdown progressed and everybody else seemed to be at home more, we started getting a few more queries in and then it got to baby bird season.
"It got to the point where the rooms in our house were full of cages, our daughters were helping to feed the birds and everything else.
"It just went mad."
He added that with hedgehog season on the way, they are expecting to be kept busy during the second lockdown:
"Because of the fine weather during the summer we had a lot of them that were in quite a bad way - dehydrated, not fed and that kind of thing.
"So they were having a different type of treatment to what they're going to need now.
"Now we've got the second litters coming in that are going to be too small to hibernate, certainly when the cold whether kicks in."
The One Voice for Animals UK Appeal was set up to support wildlife and domestic animal rescue centres and sanctuaries struggling because of the COVID-19 crisis.
Since April, the appeal’s volunteers have provided a boost to both the coffers (£16,000), and the spirits, of small rescues.
Now, the appeal is adding to its initiatives as winter and another national lockdown start.
When the first lockdown started in March, hundreds of small domestic and wildlife animal rescue centres lost their volunteers and their fundraising ability overnight, leaving them with no income to pay for food and vet bills.
Val Green, a civil servant from Nottingham, saw the pleas for help on social media and gathered a very small team of volunteers.
The group launched the appeal on 24 April.
The group set up an online directory of almost 300 animal organisations, caring for approximately 22,000 animals between them, so the public can easily find and support rescues near them.
The communities page of the website also provides links to initiatives for the public to get involved in, such as crafting items like knitted nests, transporting wildlife, a buy and sell group to support their local rescue, and fundraising auctions.
The first auction raised £3,142 for 60 rescues and the upcoming Christmas auction is reportedly set to be three times bigger.
The Christmas Auction is running from 29 November to 5 December.
A spokesperson for One Voice for Animals UK said:
"Our animal rescue centres are the backbone of UK animal welfare.
"These forgotten heroes care for pets when owners are hospitalised with Covid, and have dealt with the abandoned pets, feral animals, and kittens from unspayed cats which have seen a huge increase as a result of lockdowns.
"As they get no Government funding and don't qualify for National Lottery money it’s down to members of the public to help, and help they have.
"It’s amazing to see what we’ve achieved so quickly, and we’re grateful to everyone who’s helped in any way."