Blyth Wildlife Rescue appeals for support after closing to new admissions
A wildlife charity has received an outpouring of support since announcing it was temporarily close its doors.
Since 2006, Blyth Wildlife Rescue has treat and rehabilitated countless of animals across Northumberland and North Tyneside.
However, in July, the team announced that they had made the difficult decision to provisionally shut to new admissions.
Relying entirely on donations and the work of dedicated volunteers, the rescue revealed it had reached full capacity and was running dangerously low on funds.
Senior medic, Teri Charlton, who has been at the rescue since 2016, described how her job has gotten busier and busier over recent years.
“It just seems like the volume of animals needing help is increasing year on year,” she explained.
"Making the decision to not take in any more is never an easy one to make. But ultimately, we need to prioritise the animals already in our care.
“Every year, for everyone, the cost is increasing too. We’re all in the same boat. Obviously, for the charities where we don't get any kind of government funding, it's about trying to get the continuous support.”
Since making the announcement, the community have rallied together to show their support for the charity and provide generous donations.
This has allowed the volunteers to continue to care for their existing casualties and respond in emergency incidents.
“Obviously, we did close the doors, but I think with this kind of line of work you can never really close the doors fully,” Teri added.
“It's just the nature of it. It's peak time, it's summer. There's a lot of babies. Obviously, the weather's been really hot, so there's a lot of dehydrated animals coming in.
“The publics donations have allowed us to continue without having to fully stop operations.”
To help take the strain off volunteers, the rescue are encouraging the public to contact local vets if they find a small injured animal.
“We've got a small core team,” Teri added. “So trying to get out to every single animal is really difficult.
“A lot of the public are great and will take an animal straight to a vet, which is a massive weight off our shoulders. If it is an animal that's severely injured, the vet can then deal with that appropriately.”
The rescue recently marked their 20th anniversary and, to celebrate, are inviting their supporters to enter a special raffle to try and raise extra funds.
“It's a massive achievement,” Teri said “We couldn’t do it without the public support.”
The team are urging the public to continue showing their support by donating as much or as little as they can, including supplies such as old towels, newspapers and tins of food.
They also ask that people leave bowls of water in their gardens during hot days to prevent dehydration among wildlife.
“We can't stress enough that it’s not just about donating loads. A couple of pounds here and there does mount up when we need it,” Teri added.