New Forest animal rescue centre facing cash crisis (From Bournemouth Echo)

New Forest animal rescue centre facing cash crisis

7:00pm Wednesday 25th November 2009

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A STRUGGLING animal rescue service has stopped taking new cases and could cease operating altogether unless fresh funding is found soon.

New Forest Animal Rescue, which is run by 44-year-old Kim Taylor, with the help of occasional volunteers and her 15-year-old son Jake, takes in cats, dogs and rabbits from across the area and finds foster homes for them, many in the Bournemouth area.

Kim also looks after four unwanted equines – two horses and two ponies – herself.

And it is a bill for one of those horses, a 12-year-old Arab gelding named Naz, that has led to the funding crisis.

Five weeks ago Naz suffered a serious injury which could have led to the loss of a hoof.

The vet’s bill to save the horse’s foot came to £1,400.

That, added to the monthly cost of about £500 for food and veterinary bills for the fostered out animals, has put the service at risk.

Kim, who works as a carer, already subsidises the rescue from her wages.

“It’s an awful lot of money to find,” said Kim, who has been hit hard by the recession.

“Either we get donations in, which have completely dried up, we do car boot sales, or it’s money out of my own pocket.”

In addition to the effects of the recession, in recent weeks the car boot sales have been washed out by the wet weather, which has led to that income stream drying up.

“At the moment I have closed to new intakes.

“It would be foolish to take any more in. If I don’t get any money in soon I’m not sure what I will do.

“I may have to close completely,” she said.

Anyone who can help out with donations should contact Kim on 023 8089 9589 or go to the website at freewebs.com/newforest animalrescue

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