VIDEO: Horse Refuge to be closed by Friday
By Justine Thompson
General news
27 April 2010 09:44
More than 50 horses from the Horse Refuge are facing death after a celebrity-backed appeal failed to raise the money needed to save it from closure.
Despite the backing of music impresario Simon Cowell and publicist Max Clifford, the refuge is still £385,000 short of the £600,000 needed to buy the premises it’s on.
Now it’s being evicted from its home in Wittersham, Kent on Friday because the land there is up for sale.
Other rescued animals, including dogs, cats, parrots, goats, geese and a pig nicknamed Louis Walsh are also threatened.
Sara Ross, who runs the shelter, says she will have no option but to have the animals destroyed.
“My life has been about saving horses, not killing them,” she said. “Once the bailiffs come, it’s too late. I worry about what I’m going to do when Friday comes.”
She added that many of the horses had behavioural problems that made them unsuitable for rehoming, and that other charities could not take them because they were also full.
The shelter was set up in 1995 and costs £2,000 a week to run. One of its inhabitants is Europe’s tallest horse, Duke, seen pictured with Sara.
To donate, visit www.thehorserefuge.org or call 01797 270555.
For a BBC video on the refuge’s plight, click below