Hopeful Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue ‘well on the way’ to preventing closure!

Hopeful Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue ‘well on the way’ to preventing closure!

Heartbreaking news was announced last week as the much-loved Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue shared that they will be closing their doors.

Due to the ongoing cost of living crisis, the team have seen a decrease in donations alongside an increase in the cost of equipment, petrol and rehabilitation.

In a statement the rescue centre said: “We’re devastated to say, we’re closing our doors… at least until we’re in a better place!

“We’re all feeling the bitter sting of rising living costs… electricity, petrol, and bills, in general, are so much higher than they used to be and understandably, we’ve had a massive drop in donations because of this. Knowing that other rescues closed for this exact reason, we have been battling hard to avoid a similar fate!

“We’ve seen huge increases in the price of everything needed for the rescue and rehabilitation of wildlife… feed has risen by roughly 70-90%, petrol prices are through the roof (the amount of travelling we do daily is unreal), powering all the incubators and specialist equipment, medications, bedding … a good month can be over £2,000, throw in vet and unexpected bills and you’re sometimes double that.

“Until we’re in a better place with funds, we simply cannot afford to take in any further admissions. We’re only volunteers and we cannot be running a rescue (which is a massive task on its own) and taking on extra shifts at paid workplaces just to keep the rescue open, we’re exhausted!”

The rescue team have performed thousands of rescues across the area, helping save countless animals and providing loving care to all those in need.

They added: “We do hope this isn’t forever, but we can’t carry on until we have a secure base of funds and know that going forward that we can continue the good standard of care that wildlife needs.

“We know it’s a massive task but if just 20% of our 5,969 Facebook followers set up a £2 monthly donation or similar, we would be in a better place to start again and allow new admissions into the rescue.”

Now, in a hopeful development, an update from their social media page has said they are ‘well on the way’ to raising enough funds to help the charity.

Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue have thanked those who have donated, adding that the support received so far has shown it is possible to prevent their permanent closure.

In an updated statement, they said on social media:

“We’re well on the way to raising enough funds to prevent permanent closure of our rescue! We knew this was going to be a massive task and being honest, we really expected this to be the end… however, the support so far shows that we CAN prevent this and it’s not too far out of reach now.

“Thank you to all who have donated and set up a monthly contribution so far, no matter the amount, we are so thankful for the response shown. We know times are hard for everyone so we have been overwhelmed by the support.

“We’ve only got a few more races to run and hills to climb before we can look at reopening with at least our minimum monthly target to keep us going.

“We’re so thankful to those who have joined us on this journey by sharing our posts, tagging friends and setting up their monthly donations to the rescue… Even £2 a month by enough people will save us from permanent closure, and most importantly prevent this from ever happening again!

“We know quite a lot of people had been moved by Linda’s tearful interview on Calendar a few days ago… although tears have been shed constantly over the last couple of weeks, she wants to ensure you all that she’s okay and is thankful for your support so far.”

To make a donation to help the team continue operations head to the Paypal site here.