The future of a Chester Basin animal rescue is in the wind as COVID-19 prevents needed funds from coming in.
Integrity’s Haven Equine Animal Rescue Centre has been unable to fundraise most of the year due to the pandemic, leaving the rescue scrambling to gather the funds needed to remain open.
“What I strive and live for is to rescue these horses that have been neglected or abused,” said Owner Angela Welburn.
“Without my community support unfortunately, I won’t have a choice but to close the doors up to taking in any further animals.”
The rescues relies on clothing donation bins, where donations are picked up and sold to local shops. Those funds are then used to buy supplies and pay for veterinary bills.
Welburn says she had to shut down her donation bins, as storage fees to store donations began to double the funds she was bringing in. Photo: Submitted.
Due to COVID-19, those shops haven’t been taking in nearly as much clothing as they normally do, causing Welburn to shut down her donation bins due to the high cost of storing overflow.
Welburn recently made the tough decision to stop taking in surrendered animals due to financial strain, but refuses to turn down sick animals that need her help.
“If I have to remortgage, I’ll remortgage,” said Welburn.
“I’m not going to let any sick or senior animal leave, I won’t do it. Its always been the rule of thumb the healthy ones get put up for adoption, but if I had to find them homes and couldn’t get the adoption fees, I would have to do that.
The rescue centre also has two annual fundraisers, which included an auction, that bring in roughly $1000 dollars each.
However those fundraisers were cancelled this year due to the ongoing pandemic.
The rescue currently is home to 32 animals including dogs, cats, horses, donkeys, and even two zonkeys – Zonk and Zelda.
The rescue is home to two unique animals – A pair of Zonkeys named Zonk (pictured) and Zelda.
She said feed and supplies needed to care for the animals costs between $3,000-3,500 per month to purchase, which doesn’t include the extra cost of veterinary care.
Currently, Welburn is using her personal line of credit to keep the rescue afloat, but fears once that dries up the rescue may shut down.
“I’m not a that stage yet though,” she said, “I guess if I don’t think about it, it won’t happen.”
Welburn said donations are always welcome, whether its food and supplies, or money to care for the animals. IHERC is a registered charity, and she said tax receipts for donations can be made available.
Anyone interested in donating or assisting the rescue can find more information here.
