‘Heartbreaking’: Animal sanctuary faces uncertain future due to drop in funding

Video report by Hannah Norbury
An animal rescue charity fears it may have to close its doors for good due to soaring costs and a drop in funding.
Albert’s Horse Sanctuary in Barnsley, which has rescued horses, donkeys, goats and even pigs, relies on donations. But now the founders worry the future of the animals could be at risk.
The charity says donations have been slowing down for some time, but the costs of feeding the more than 50 animals and vet bills has stayed in the thousands.
Stacey Hepworth, a trustee at the sanctuary said: “It’s been quite a long time now that we’ve worried about the sanctuary’s future but we’ve just tried to push on.
“A lot of sanctuaries at the minute I think are struggling really bad just like us, and it’s impossible for them to take on more animals, so they would have to be put to sleep most of them, that’s heartbreaking, they literally are our everything.
“I don’t want to think about that.”
To try and help minimise the financial pressure, the charity set up a go fund me page with a target of £5,000, which would help them for a while.
So far it has raised just over £1,100.
Mary Hepworth, a founder of the sanctuary said: “The biggest thing is the income continuously coming in, and that’s what is scary.
“It’s no good people helping us now for a month, and then what happens next month? We’ve got to find a way of that income continuously coming in.”
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